Unexpected Encounters
by Queen of darkness.xo
Summary: Lt.Fleming is a devoted marine who's only goal is to stop the covenant at all costs. On one of her missions she meets the infamous Master Chief who soon learns Lt.Rachel Fleming isn't everything she appears to be They have a lot in common. MC x OC
1. First Encounter

**AUTHOR NOTES : Okay well, this is the first fan fiction I've written for HALO. I was reading one of the books and I just thought of a plot and decide to write something on it. It was a craving. Anyway, this chapter is short, but it's just to get things started. Tell me what you think ! **

**Chapter One. **

**Contact.**

* * *

" ETA two minutes to contact." A voice rang through their headsets. Aboard the pelican sat ten marines. Lieutenant Fleming sat with her eyes closed. Holding her MA5B assault rifle, she took a deep breath. She had encountered the covenant before, she knew what to expect. Although, in war the truth was, you never know what to expect.

"Contact! All teams deploy! Move Marines! Go! Go! Go!" A loud voice echoed. With that, LT. Fleming opened her eyes and jumped from the pelican, that was now low to the ground. Rachel ran for the closest cover which was a large boulder. Peeking around the corner of the rock she could see the enemy. Pulling her head back quickly she took a deep breath. Had she kept her head there a moment longer one of the plasma shots would have taken her head clean off. Listening to the sounds of battle, Rachel kept calm. She was always calm, she needed to be. Taking a deep breath Rachel rolled to the side, out of cover, and landed on her knee. Several short bursts erupted from her gun. After hearing the satisfying sound of the grunts wailing in pain, Rachel rose to her feet. Stealthily approaching the enemy's set up, she checked it quickly.

Holding her hand up to her ear she pressed her headset. "Ground team clear." After reporting Rachel examined her surroundings. On the ground lay slain corpses from both sides. There were several marines checking for vitals on the fallen. Rachel placed her hand on one of the marine's shoulders.

"There's nothing we can do for them, we need to continue to the rendezvous point." she said half speaking, half ordering. The marines nodded. " Move out marines!" Rachel said with a wave of her hand and they followed. Rachel was given orders to lead the team to one of the ancient structures that was half a kilometre from the drop point. From there they would rendezvous with APLHA team blue and they were to back up BRAVO team while they escorted a special package out of the structure and wait for EVAC.

It seemed simple enough, but through her years in the army Rachel knew that nothing was ever simple. Continuing through the thick bush of the jungle, Rachel stopped suddenly when she heard the crack of a gun and one of the marines fell to the ground. "Sniper!" she yelled. " Take cover!" jumping to the side she hid behind a tree. " Reynolds! Give me a visual!" Rachel shouted. One of the marines nodded and began feverishly typing away at a console on his forearm. Then, peering around the tree he tossed a spherical object, which was a camera. Typing some more he finally turned to Rachel. " Uploading to your HUD now." he said. Instantly, Rachel could see through the eye piece that was attached to her helmet. She could see where the sniper was.

"He's up on the ledge. Northwest two clicks." she said. Turning towards one of her marines she smirked. "I'll give a distraction. When I say, take him down Avery." she said to a female marine who was holding a sniper. The woman nodded. Reaching into her belt Rachel pulled out a small device. Holding it in front of her she pushed a button and a red laser scanned her up and down. Then, tossing the object an image appeared of her. A hologram. A loud crack rang out through the silent jungle.

"Now!" Rachel yelled. The female marine sprung from her cover and fired one round dropping the sniper instantly.

"Good work. Move out." Rachel said as the other three marines followed her. It was just the four of them traveling to the structure the rest were dead. Looking to the sky Rachel could see a blue beam reaching upwards. She knew it must have been coming from the structure they were headed to.

They continued through the jungle with no further resistance. What they did find however were dead bodies of the covenant. Even brutes were laying dead on the ground. Rachel knew of those creatures. They were the strongest of the covenant. It would take at least ten marines to bring one of them down. Rachel didn't think ALPHA team blue was that big, considering they found at least six dead marines on the way. No, they must have brought something else, some other kind of weapon with them that would deal all of this damage.

Rachel and her three marines reached the half a kilometre mark, and there in front of them stood a very old structure with the pulsating blue beam coming out the top of it. Around the structure were dead bodies, some marines, some alien. Rachel and her team slowly approached the structure. They passed over the dead bodies and reached the stairs. Rachel signalled for Reynolds and Adams to wait at the bottom while her and Avery ascended the stairs. When they reached the top Rachel heard a grunting noise. Turning her rifle quickly towards the noise she saw a marine propped up against the wall wounded. Lowering her rifle she approached the marine, Avery covered her.

Kneeling beside the man Rachel examined him. "What happened here?" she asked needing answers. "Where's ALPHA team blue?" she asked hoping they weren't all wiped out. The man winced in pain as he looked up at her.

"They're gone.. All gone." he said in a small whimper. " We…we came to help BRAVO team while they extracted the package but we were ambushed. Our whole team slaughtered by brutes. We didn't stand a chance.. And.. He came to late." he said breathing heavily. Talking was taking a lot out of him.

"What happened to BRAVO team? And.. He? Who's he?" she asked curious.

"I…I don't know. Last I saw BRAVO team ran inside with him. But they were only down to two men…." he was breathing even heavier. There was a pool of blood around him. Rachel could tell by the wound that he was badly injured and she knew that there was nothing they could do to help him. Even if they patched him up with biofoam he still wouldn't make it.

"You need to get out of here… but he's still here…find him.. Be careful…117." the man yelled in pain and breathed heavy breaths and then, nothing. His head dropped and he was gone.

"Who's he?! Find who!" Rachel yelled, but it was no use. " Dammit!" she said hitting the ground. It seemed as though a small crack formed but Rachel moved to quickly for anybody to notice anything really. Moving to the edge she called Reynolds and Adams to come up.

Standing outside the entrance to the structure Rachel faced the two marines. "You three stay out here and cover the entrance. Reinforcements may come, for either side. I'll go inside and look around. From what I could tell there's only one way in and one way out and that's this door right here. If things get too hot out here, move inside the structure and we'll use it as our defence. Anything else and you radio me immediately. Even if it's the slightest move of a branch. Am I clear?" she asked looking at the three faces in front of her. "Yes mamme!" they all answered in unison. "Good. Be safe." she said as she turned and stood in front of the door. It was activated by motion so once she moved in front of it, it opened for her. Entering the structure the large stone door closed behind her.

Clutching her rifle, Rachel slowly moved through the elongated hall. It was all stone, and in the stone there was light and symbols. Rachel knew that this was all built by forerunner. Strange, she thought, but oddly familiar. Reaching the end of the hall it turned to stairs that descended deeper into the compound. She began making her way down. So far there was nothing unusual, so far. Entering the bottom of the stairs there was another door. Stepping in front of it, it slowly opened for her. At the entrance there were two bodies, aliens. Rachel stepped over them. It looked like BRAVO team had come through here. Continuing forward into the room there were large pillars that were lined up outside the center of the room. Rachel's eyes diverted to the two bodies laying on the floor in red blood. They were marines. Rachel remembered the man saying that there were only two men left from BRAVO team.

Slowly lowering her gun she let out a small sigh. So this was all useless. Just as Rachel was ready to go back up the surfaces he heard a voice. Quickly moving up against one of the pillars she could hear the voice was coming from the center of the room. She stayed quiet.

"This doesn't make any sense. I'm going through all of the files but they're all turning up with the same thing. The UNSC insignia. But that's not possible, there's no way the UNSC could have been here before us. And even if they were, why would they send us to retrieve the information? And one of the kill switches." the female voice spoke.

"There's something else we don't' know, something more to this mission." came another voice. A male voice, though it sounded somewhat synthetic.

"I don't like this chief, I don't like this one bit." the female voice spoke again.

Rachel stood there, she thought she recognized the male voice. Though, no name or face came to her at the moment. Rachel couldn't get a visual on either of the persons that were speaking. She turned and decided that she better get to the surface and bring her marines down with her so that she'd have some backup. Although when she turned to move she stopped. Something wasn't right. The voices stopped, they knew she was there. Clutching her rifle tightly she pressed her back against the pillar as far as she could so she wasn't seen from either side. If they knew she was there they were going to come for her. She was outnumbered, but there was only two. Maybe she could take them both, but she'd have to _see them first._

_Bringing her rifle up to her shoulder and holding it taut Rachel turned the corner of the pillar and was face to face with the end of another rifle identical to hers. Looking beyond the rifle she saw who was holding it. Her eyes squinted at first and then she saw who, or rather, what it was that was holding the rifle. It stood over six feet tall in green armour head to toe. It was a SPARTAN. It seemed that this SPARTAN was untrusting of her as she was of him. Her face well covered by her helmet he wouldn't be able to see her completely. _

_A moment passed, neither of them moved, neither of them spoke. Rachel's finger never faltered from the trigger on her rifle, she glared at the being in front of her. _

" _Stand down marine. We're on the same side." the male synthetic voice spoke. Rachel didn't move. _

"_How do I know once I lower my weapon you won't fire." Rachel said. _

" _Because if I wanted you dead, you would be." he said simply. _

_Rachel looked at him for another moment and then lowered her weapon slowly. _

"_Is there anyone left from team ALPHA or team BRAVO?" Rachel asked looking at the man in front of her. More so his reflective visor. He slowly shook his head. "And the package?" she asked. _

"_How did you know of any package?" he asked looking down at her. _

" _We were the support team. Sent to help team ALPHA blue escort team BRAVO out of the complex with the package to EVAC." she explained. _

"_We?" he asked._

_She nodded. "The rest of my team is at the front door." she explained. _

" _How many of you are there?" he asked. _

" _Four, including myself. The rest were killed on our way here." she said monotonously. Rachel quickly put her hand to her ear as a transmission was coming in. " LUITENENT! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! WE'RE SEVERLY OUT NUMBERED ! THERE'S THREE DROP SHIPS - SHIT! THEY'RE EVERY WHERE! THEY HAVE ----" the transmission stopped. _

"_Avery. Come in Avery.. DAMMIT!" Rachel said as she banged her hand against the pillar and it shook. Master chief looked at the pillar but didn't say anything. "I need to get to my team." she said looking at the Spartan. He didn't say anything. Rachel turned as she began heading towards the surface. _

_Running as fast as she could she made her way up the stairs then down the hallway. Approaching the door she could already hear the fighting coming from outside. It was a relief of sorts, at least she could still hear the sound of returning fire which meant her entire team hadn't been wiped out. The door opened and Rachel held her gun tight to her body. Immediately she squeezed the trigger and short bursts shot out dropping grunts like flies. Rolling behind the wall she reloaded her gun. Putting in another clip she stood from her cover and pulled the trigger again this time, she didn't let go. Bullets shot out around the area as the grunts all dropped to the ground. _

_Bending down again she reloaded. Looking around she saw her team was on the other side of a broken wall. Standing up she ran towards the broken wall then, jumping into the air she slid across the flat surface of the fallen wall and used her momentum to jump from her heel over one of the jagged pieces .Landing in a roll she emptied another clip on a small group of grunts and managed to take out one of the jackals with a lucky shot. _

_Bending down beside Avery she could see that the female sniper was wounded. Looking around Adams was laying in a pool of his own blood and Reynolds was injured so badly that his facial features were a mess and he was missing half of his left side. "He was caught by a sticky grenade." Avery said painfully. She outstretched her arm and placed it on Rachel's shoulder. "LT, call for EVAC. You need to get out of here.. You need to -" she winced in pain. " You need to go." she said breathing heavily as she held her side. There was a huge gash. " No Avery, I can get you out of here." Rachel said but Avery griped her shoulder tighter. " Please, it's no use. You need to go…" she said weakly as she leaned against the building. Her grip on Rachel's shoulder relaxed and then her hand fell by her side. Rachel dropped her head. Standing up she grabbed Avery's sniper and strapped it to her back. Then, taking out a grenade from her belt she tossed it over the wall. The grunts screamed, then there was a loud bang and the screaming stopped. _

_Rachel strapped her rifle to her back and moved over picking up Adams two sub machine guns. Holding them by her side she rose from her cover and fired at the remaining enemies. Then, leaping over the wall she slid down the smooth surface and continued firing upon the grunts and jackals. Doing her best to avoid their attacks she didn't stop shooting until she heard the unpleasant sound of the clicking coming from her guns signalling her guns were empty. _

_Throwing them aside she approached the nearest grunt and grabbed his neck snapping it between her hands, then turning she kicked another one. Grabbing one of their own sticky grenades she activated it then stuck it to the grunt's face. He ran in circles screaming and then exploded. Breathing heavily Rachel stood in the middle of a blue bloody mess. It looked like someone had gone crazy with a can of paint. Dropping to her knees she lowered her head._

_Standing at the entrance of the structure was Master chief. He just stood there motionless. _

"_Chief.." came a female voice from inside his head. _

"_I know." he answered simply as he looked at the woman kneeling in the middle of all the alien corpses. _

_---_

_The two of them, three including Cortana in Chief's helmet, stood inside the ancient forerunner structure in silence. Cortana was still working to find out what happened to the files they were supposed to retrieve and why it was just left with the UNSC insignia. Chief stood at guard near the entrance watching Cortana go through all of the millions of files in mere seconds over and over again. Rachel sat on a lowered platform, her rifle in her hands and her head faced towards the ground ._

_Occasionally Chief would glance over to Rachel. He examined her a couple times, judging by the scene that happened not too long ago when she took out all of those covenant Chief could tell that there was something off about her. Not so much in a bad way, but she was definitely different. _

_Cortana's virtual body flickered as she turned to face Chief. Shrugging her shoulders she shook her head. " Nothing. I've bypassed all the firewalls and even the hidden ones. Checked all the archives, every entry ever recorded, even located all the black files. Still nothing. All I keep getting are UNSC insignia's." Cortana explained. _

_Silenced hung in the air for a moment or two until Rachel rose to her feet rubbing her temples. " None of this makes sense. Why would they send three ground teams, one with a SPARTAN to retrieve special information only to find that it's already been retrieved and processed by the UNSC…" Rachel spoke summarizing the entire of their situation. _

"_Unless, it wasn't the UNSC and it's being set up as a decoy.. Or a trick to make us think that they were here before us." Cortana suggested._

"_Hm, it's possible.. But why? What's the purpose? If that was so then why were the covenant trying to get in as well if they already obtained all of the information. It just doesn't make sense." Rachel said with a sigh. Walking over to the console where Cortana was inserted she placed her hand on it and began entering some numbers. _

"_What are you doing?" Cortana asked. _

"_Entering the designated code that they gave me, perhaps it's the only way around this thing." Rachel answered. Words popped up on the screen saying ' CODE INPUTED. REDIRECTED….UNSC.' Letting out a sigh of frustration Rachel took a step back. " Pointless." she spoke again. _

_Chief soon approached the console and removed Cortana from it placing her back in his helmet. " We should go. It won't be too long before the covenant sends back up, and I'm near out of ammo." he explained. Rachel nodded her head in agreement. _

_Leading the way Chief exited the structure with Rachel behind him. They both held their rifles that and were on guard for any surprise attacks. Then, breaking into a brisk run they headed in the direction of their designated EVAC point._


	2. Teamwork

Author's notes : Hello ! I know it's been a very long time since I've updated, but I promise that I'm going to do my best to update more frequently now. For some reason, half of that last chapter was in italics. I do apologize for it and had I realized it sooner changed the chapter - but I'll leave it as it is. Also, Halo Reach is an amazing game. I'm introducing a new way in delivering my chapters. They're going to be told through different perspectives, but in third person still. I will state at the beginning of the chapter's who's view it's being told / seen in.

Disclaimer - I do not own Halo or any part of it. I wish I did though.

Chapter Two

**Master Chief.**

Click. Click. Click.

Rachel was on her stomach at the top of a hill under some cover as she adjusted the sights on the sniper rifle. As she peered through the scope examining the area, her focus rested on a destroyed, and now smoking warthog, with three dead marines beside it and a burnt out flare. With a sigh, she pulled back from the scope and shook her head.

"Well, that's the EVAC point but it's been hit and the marine's are dead. The flare's been long since burned out." Rachel explained to Master Chief, and the AI in his helmet. Standing up she fastened the sniper rifle to her back and held her pistol turning to Master Chief for instructions.

" I've been trying to connect to the nearest comm signal, but I've found nothing. There aren't many covenant comm signals either." Cortana spoke, informing chief.

Walking over to the legde Chief peered over it and took in the scene before him. Three dead marines, a destroyed vehicle and many unanswered questions. Lowering his MA5B assault rifle Chief lifted his leg and placed it on the rock and rested against his leg. " Cortana, do a sweep of the areas comm transmissions and find the last one that was sent out." he said in his synthetic voice.

" Got it." Cortana answered into his helmet. A few moments of silenced passed until Cortana's voice chimed back in. " Last trasmission sent out at 14:30 hours. More than an hour ago." she informed him.

"Play the transmission." Chief said as he pressed a buttom and linked his comm to Rachel's.

"Ground team BRAVO RED reporting to Command. Command come in! We're out numbered! There's too many of them! Enemies like we've never seen before - static - we don't - static - too many - static - can't wait - static - need immeadiate EVAC -static - oh shit they're - -static -

"That's the end of it. " Cortana said slowly. " But, the strangest part is that the transmission was cut from Comman's side." she informed both Rachel and Chief.

Standing straight, Chief's eyes were still focused on the ground below them. " Try to contact command, find out what's going on." he spoke while turning to face Rachel."Lieutenant, since you've been stationed on this planet, what kind of enemies have you encountered?" he asked curious as to what the enemies the marine's never seen before, were.

"Just the standard covenant. Grunts, Jackals, Brutes, Elite's and hunters. There's been various types of indigenous creatures but none have proven to be hostile, they've all avoided our forces." Rachel explained recalling all of the time she's spent on the planet.

A very serious thought entered his mind as he thought about what this other 'enemy' could be, and Chief hoped above all else it wasn't what he had in mind. " Any response?" Chief asked Cortana.

"Negative. The lines closed from their side. I've already sent a message through." she answered.

"Corana, search through the UNSC's files to see if they found any structure's nearby . We need to get into the system and find out about this planet." Chief instructed.

"On it." the AI responded as she tapped into the files.

"Lieutenant," he started turning towards her. " We're going to search those bodies and destroyed warthog for ammunition and any valuable items we may need." he said as she nodded her hed and started down the hill with Chief right behind her. Stopping ot look up at the sky Master Chief took note of how dark it was getting and knew they needed to get somewhere safe for the night. Without proper directions or orders from command they were sitting ducks in the middle of no where.

It had been about an hour or so that they were traveling through the darkness of the woods. The sun had set and they were still miles away from the nearest structure according to Cortana's readings. Master Chief was moving slower than usual because he had to make sure that he was close enough that Rachel would see him. Afterall, he had night vision equipped in his helmet whereas she, didn't.

However, when it came to moving over or around obstacles he found that she was quite efficient in doing it without any assistance. Truely it shouldn't be something that was very amazing considering marine's got appropriate training for any terrain but, some of the obstacles that had to climb through, over or around were challenging and even took the Chief some extra strength to bypass them. So, for a mere marine to do it as well without the equipment he had was... impressive.

Stopping atop a hill Chief held his hand up in a fist signalling for them to stop. Dropping down to one knee he peered over the side of the small cliff that overlooked a valley below. The sound of shuffling came from below them as well as gargled voices and the humming of vehicles.

"The Covenant." Rachel spoke from beside Chief as he nodded his head.

"It appears to be one of their outposts." Cortana inputed.

"Is there any way around them?" Chief asked.

"No. This cliff extends for about four kilometers in each direction and moving along it would only put us further from the mapped structure." she explained.

"It looks like we have no other choice. We're going to have to take them out, quietly. I'll go down there, wait for my signal and then snipe the jackal's and any Elite's you may see." he ordered to Rachel as she nodded and took out her sniper rifle getting into position.

Carefully, Chief moved over the side of the cliff and climbed down as slowly as possible trying not to rustle too many rocks. Taking out the knife he had attatched to his armor he crouched down low behind a tree. There were several sleeping grunts in front of him. Moving slowly, he managed to slit every one of their throats in between their environment masks and armor. Lifting his hand he gave the signal to Rachel.

When Chief heard three crack's of the gun go off he knew that the covenant's sniper's were down. Putting away his knife he quickly pulled out his pistol and peered around the corner of a barrel. Any sleeping grunts were now away and the Elite's were on guard looking around for the source of the shots.

Moving out from cover Chief squeezed down on the trigger and shot several grunt's staright in the head killing them instantly. They environment mask filling with blue liquid as their suits leaked methane, the alien's home planet air. The Elite's spotted him and let out a loud cry then came charging at him firing off shots from their plasma guns. Switching his pistol for his assault rifle, he held down the trigger and filled the first Elite full of bullets. Another one drew close but at the sound of a crack from a sniper rifle the Elite fell to the ground with a large hole in it's head.

Moving fast, Cheif quickly got rid of the grunt's and ran towards their signaling station before they could get off a distress signal. Bashing his assault rfle and arm into two jackal's with shields, they fell to the ground with a scream. Jumping over fallen bodies Chief took down any in his way and watched as others dropped around him after the sullen sounds of the sniper rifle.

Finally reaching the signalling station Chief jumped onto the back of an Elite wrestling it to the ground before it could press the button. Snapping it's neck, Cheif rose to his feet and took a plasma granade that was strapped to the Elite. Arming it he threw it at the signalling station and ran fast ducking behind a barrel full of covenant weapons. When the explosion went off it was amplified by the explosive capablities of the station itself.

Looking up at the top of the cliff where Rachel was he saw her reloading the sniper rifle. But his eyes soon widened when he saw the ever so familiar gleam of a sword behind her and the outline of an Elite appearing from beind invisible. "Shit!" he said as he sprinted towards the cliff before she was sliced in half. But.. he was quite a distance away and didn't know if he'd make it..


	3. Wishful Thinking

Author's notes : Well I decided to update fast this time. That and my work is so dead that I had enough time to ! lol.

_

Rachel

Hearing the dissatisfying clicking sound, Rachel knew it was time to reload her rifle. Digging into her pack she searched for the large bullets to reload her weapon. Not wanting to keep Chief without cover for too long, she moved as fast as she could.

Glancing over the edge of the cliff to see Chief's status she noticed that he was running towards her. Suddenly, getting the feeling that something was behind her, Rachel instinctively rolled to the side as a florescent sword crashed into the ground beside her burning the dirt and setting off sparks from contact with a rock.

Looking up at the elite, Rachel quickly jumped to her feet avoiding yet another strike from the sword. Backing up she stopped when her back hit a large boulder. Ducking fast she dodged again and the elite let out a cry of frustration. When he moved to attack once more, Rachel shifted her footing and avoided the sword by mere inches , so close she could feel the heat radiating off of the weapon.

Moving fast she grabbed the elite's arm and bent it sideways causing him to hold the sword on an awkward angle. The elite struggled to pull his arm free but she had a tight grip. Lifting her foot she delivered a swift kick to the Elite's chest causing him to stumble back a couple feet, awkwardly because she was still holding his wrist. The elite was near the edge now as a couple of rocks rolled down from the cliff side threatening a long drop. Rachel tried to use more force to push him off but he pushed against her causing a nullifying reaction. Neither of them were moving.

Finally, Rachel gave way and shot to the side as the Elite charged straight into the boulder from all the force he was using against Rachel. Disorientated from the hit the Elite staggered back a few steps and Rachel took advantage. Grabbing the sword from his lose grip she moved quick. Running up the boulder she pushed off of it and was in mid-air for a moments time before landing on top of the Elite and running the blade straight through its chest causing it to belt out a scream of pain and then its held fell to the side : dead.

Breathing hard Rachel stood up, the energy sword still tight in her grip as she looked down at her fallen foe. Hearing the movement of rocks she quickly turned to the side holding out the sword but relaxed when she saw Master Chief climb over the top of the edge. She watched as he examined the fallen Elite and then looked up at her.

"Good job, Marine." he said with a subtle nod.

Rachel simply nodded back as she deactivated the sword and attached it to her belt. For a moment she wanted to correct his words but, decided against it. That's what she was now, a marine.

" The outpost has been cleared and their communication devices disabled. It's safe to say that there won't be another outpost for a few miles yet. And by the time they discover that this one has been destroyed we'll be gone." Chief said as he turned to make his way down the cliff again.

Rachel picked up her rifle and strapped it to her back as she cautiously followed Chief, watching his footsteps and doing her best to stay in the same ones so that she wouldn't trip and go tumbling down the side of the cliff. If she had different equipment on , her equipment, this would be a hell of a lot easier.

_

" There it is." Cortona's voice chimed in.

Rachel stood atop a fallen log as she spotted the small structure in which Cortana was talking about. It wasn't big. Built into the side of a rocky alcove, they approached it carefully. Standing in the archway there wasn't much too it. The lights that usually adorned forerunner structure's weren't found in this small, one room shelter.

Turning to Chief she watched as he stood at the entrance of the small shelter.

"Get some rest. I'll keep watch." he said without turning to look at her.

Rachel stood there for a moment without responding. Mentally she was alert and awake but she knew that physically her body needed to rest. Nodding her head slowly she removed the rifle from her back.

" With your suit's monitoring system you'll be able to last through the night and most of tomorrow without getting tired. Luckily for you, energy can be pumped through your veins the moment your body begins to slow down or you feel weak." she said slowly. "Must be nice." she added after removing the final piece of weaponry that would cause for an uncomfortable sleep.

Moving to the far side of the shelter she wedged herself in between the corner and tried so very hard to make herself comfortable though comfort was definitely something she wouldn't find out here. While adjusting herself she failed to notice Chief glance at her.

With a sigh she thought about the day's events and the marines, and friends, she had lost. Clutching her hand into a fist she felt that she had let them down, that she was the reason for their death. Any leader would. They took on the responsibility of carrying out missions and making sure they're followed through no matter what and to keep the team alive.

Looking up at Master Chief once more she was glad that she came across him. It was a blessing that he had shown up when he did. Rachel thought for a while now that everything they did was pointless and they were just fighting a never ending war, exhausting all of their resources and energy.

Would they ever be found?

And with that thought she drifted off into sleep.


	4. Hunted

Author's notes : Sorry that last chapter was so short. Hopefully this one will make up for it. Enjoy and review !

**Master Chief**

"Cortana," Chief began breaking the silence. " Who has access to UNSC files, and more specifically on the projects they run?" he asked curiously.

" Well, a general would have access, certain Commander's, doctor's, scientists and of course those who head the various projects." she answered him.

"Hm." he said as he adjusted the weapon in his hand.

"You're wondering how she knew about your suit, aren't you?" Cortana asked.

"That and many other things. Search her files, see what you can find on her." Chief said as he glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping female in the corner. Cortana didn't answer and simply went straight to looking through her files.

Hearing the sound of shuffling in a nearby bush Chief immediately had his weapon pointed towards the noise. Lowering his weapon after seeing that it was just a type of indigenous lifeforms he went back to scanning the area to make sure there were no unwelcome visitor's.

"Well, it says here she graduated top of her class. Black belt in several different types of martial arts, ranks top grade with every kind of weapon - even some covenant weaponry. Hmm, a lot of information is missing from her file." Cortana said. " Hold on, what's this. There's a name that's been tagged in relation to her file. A Sean Coax. He was part of the SPARTAN III program. It doesn't give me much information about him there's just a note on file that they were involved with each other . Lovers perhaps?" Cortana suggested.

" Well that would explain her knowledge of my suit but -" he stopped suddenly when a bright light appeared and began moving around the area. Ducking back into the small shelter Chief watched as the light moved from place to place illuminating the dark areas. Peering up into the sky he saw a purple aircraft, it was a phantom. They were searching for something, searching for them.

Pressing himself up against the wall he made sure that they wouldn't be able to see him should the light pass near the small structure. Glancing over at Rachel he saw she was still asleep and pressed far into the corner also making it difficult to see her.

After a short amount of time, the ships moved onto another area ultimately deciding that there was nothing to be found in this one. Chief watched as the ships disappeared over the hills and stood from the wall walking towards the entrance once more. Holding his rifle he continued to keep watch for the remainder of the night, but nothing else made itself known.

As they trekked through the jungle the next day, Chief knew they needed to eat something soon. True, his suit was specially built to adapt to his body's needs and inject him with different nutrients and such but she wasn't so lucky and would need something soon before her body gave out. He had told Cortana to scan for anymore structures or, if they were lucky, a marine station. But, there was none. Nothing but them and a very, very large jungle.

Chief began to regret his decision to take the path through the jungle. Although it provided lots of cover from any ships above, it also provided lots of dangers and hiding spots within. But, they would do better against anything on the ground than anything in the air in their current situation.

They had been walking for an unknown amount of time and even Chief was getting tired, and restless. Stopping against the base of a tree he held his gun up and recounted how much ammo he had left. Although they had done that before they left, he was just double checking. It didn't hurt to be too sure. Though, he also wished that somehow more ammo would have appeared magically. But, that was impossible.

"We'll rest here for a bit." Chief spoke to Rachel as she nodded slowly and leaned against a tree as well, clearly tired and worn out.

Chief could see the beads of sweat adorn her forehead and her heavy breaths signalled her hunger and thirst. He didn't need to ask, he knew.

Looking around the area he searched for something, anything , that could be used to eat or create some sort of liquid. But, all he could see were tree's that bore no fruit and bushes that had nothing but leaves. He wasn't about to trust the wildlife either, he'd heard reports of acidic blood and the like. But, he knew if they didn't find some kind of food or water soon that Rachel would no longer be able to carry on and he couldn't very well carry her everywhere, that would leave him open for an attack and defenceless.

Standing up straight, Chief noticed movement on his radar in his HUD. Turning to Rachel he made several hand signs as she nodded her head and proceeded to climb the very tree she was leaning against for support. Going as high as she could manage she held her sniper rifle out and searched the area slowly.

Chief got low and took out his pistol. Thankfully his armor was green and he fit in perfectly with their surroundings. On his rader he red dots showed that the enemy was advancing. Soon enough he could hear the sound of the leaves crunching verifying their arrival. However, the sound and fell of the advancing enemy was much heavier than any grunt's or Elites. That could only mean one thing.. As they came into view, the dark armor and orange flesh confirmed his suspicions.

Hunters.

This was very bad. The hunter's were being followed by a small patrol of grunts who walked lazily behind them. Chief knew that this could end very badly if him or Rachel was discovered. They didn't have enough firepower to take on both the hunter's and the accompanying group of grunts. Hopefully they would just pass by without spotting them.

Glancing up at Rachel he saw that she was still positioned on the branch but, the position she was in barley looked comfortable and he hoped that she would be able to hold it for a while longer. One wrong movement and her body would give out causing her to fall into the underbrush below giving away their position.

He watched as the patrol made their way through the small opening heading into the other side of the jungle. The hunter's moved extremely slow and the grunts were just as lazy following behind them. Several minutes had passed already and they still hadn't crossed through fully.

Chief's finger, which had been pressed up against the trigger, was starting to grow tired but he didn't move it and just waited hoping they'd be out of there soon. But the snap of a branch told him otherwise. Looking up he noticed that the thin branch was beginning to give way under the weight of Rachel. He saw the look on her face, anger.

Looking back to the patrol he saw them stop at the noise and proceed to look around. Some of the grunts even brought their weapons up suspicious of the noise. They were getting close to the tree Rachel was in. With his other hand Chief slowly reached for the knife on his person. Taking it out slowly he watched as one of the grounds passed by him. Reaching out from his over he grabbed the ground, covering its mouth and dragging the blade across its neck in one swift movement.

Pulling the body into the bushes with him he hid it there and checked to see if any of the other grunts had noticed. They hadn't. Though, they continued to advance towards the tree Rachel was in. Moving his position, Chief was slow and careful not to make any noise.

There was another snap and Cheif knew that this time they would all know where to grunt's all yelled something and then there was the unpleasant sound of the cannon that was attached to the hunter's going off and a green beam shot straight towards the tree Rachel was in.

Appearing from cover, Cheif pressed the trigger that his finger was waiting so anxiously on. In three short bursts he had taken out the three grunts near the tree. Then, holding out his arms he caught Rachel as she fell into his arms. Looking down at her for a brief second he could hear the sound of the cannon charging and put her on her feet. " Run." he said as she nodded and took off. Chief fired several more shots at the covenant and then took off after Rachel as the second shot from the cannon tore through the tree she had been in moments ago.

Great, this was all they needed.


	5. Welcome Back

Author's notes : I've gotten feedback that some assume that Rachel is invincible or too talented for a marine well.. I hope that in the next few chapters it will explain everything. ANND - i plan on advancing the relationship between the two. Well, enjoy.

**Rachel**

Ducking behind a large rock, the unsatisfying sound of the hunters cannon rang through the air crashing into the back of the rock, Rachel could feel the heat through the hard stone. Looking down at her pistol she cursed upon seeing there were no bullets left. This was not good. She had lost her sniper rifle when she fell from the tree. The situation had gone from bad, to worse.

Looking over at Chief, she noticed he was out of ammo as well. Chief suddenly grabbed her arm pulling her to different cover as another cannon blast tore through the rock they used for protection mere seconds ago.

"We can't keep playing hide-n-seek." Chief said turning to her. He was right. They couldn't do this much longer lest they be destroyed by the plasma cannon.

Running once more, Rachel slowed as she recognized the area. Spotting a familiar marking on a tree a small smile curved on her face.

"This way!" she shouted to Chief, waiting a moment before bolting off into a different direction. Spotting several more trees with the markings it soon led them to a small alcove. Two large boulders were at either side of the alcove. A dirt wall in the middle. Rushing into the alcove Rachel's hands feverishly slid along the wall. Sounds of plasma shots and hunters cannon's going off behind them.

"What the hell are you doing?" Cheif asked aggravated, noticing the dead end. "We'll be trapped here, we need to move." he said reaching for her arm but Rachel pulled back.

"Hold on." she said, her hands skimming the wall. " It's around here somewhere." she said brushing away first as it fell to the ground.

Chief was growing impatient as he watched her. Rachel could practically feel his eyes burning into the back of her skull. He must've thought she was crazy. But, there was a method to her madness, one that could save them.

"Found it!" she said as another cannon fired dangerously close to them. As she brushed away the dust the letters UNSC were prominently displayed as well as a keypad. Activating the keypad a holographic screen appeared and Rachel entered in several different pass codes and identification numbers. Finally she placed her hand on the identification pad and the sound o shifting gears was heard. The wall shifted and dirt began to fall as a section of the wall sunk in and to the side revealing an elongated entrance.

"C'mon!" Rachel shouted as she rushed inside, Chief hurrying in after her.

The door sealed itself just as a plasma shot crashed into it from one of the hunters cannons. Leaning against the metal wall, Rachel took in several deep breaths and looked to Chief.

"Will it hold?" he asked concerned about the strength of the door.

"It's reinforced titanium alloy mixed with that of the forerunner technology and ten feet thick surrounding the whole place. " she said in one breath. " It'll hold." she said confidently.

Cheif didnt' waste anytime and began walking down the elongated metal hallway, Rachel close behind. It ended at a door that had another keypad. Approaching the keypad Rachel once more inputed several different passwords and ended with an ID recognition. There was a chime and the door lit up opening for them.

" Welcome back Lieutenant Fleming." a computerized voice rang over the intercom.

Stepping inside the lights began to turn on revealing what appeared to be a room resembling a mess hall. There were tables and chairs with papers littered on top of them. The place looked out of sorts.

"What is this place?" Chief asked as they continued through the room.

"It's a combat headquarters turned research facility." Rachel explained as she let out a sigh looking around with familiarity.

"Were you stationed here?" he asked her as they passed through another hallway.

"You could say that." Rachel said with an almost pained look in her eyes, but Chief didn't catch it.

"This place is old. " Cortana said, speaking up from a long period of silence. " I can't access all of the records, most of them have been blocked, deleted or.. recorded by hand." she informed Chief and Rachel, though she most likely was aware of that already.

Rachel eyed the screens around her and her hand slowly passed over some of the desks. The pain of her memories slowly returned to her as she thought back to the time she had spent in this place. Moving over to a terminal she eyed it for quite some time. It was blank but, she knew what was inside of it and didn't want to activate it lest she bring upon her more pain.

This was the last place that Rachel wanted to end up in , but she had no choice. They were in a very dangerous situation and this was their only way out. Coincidentally they had been near the base in their time of dire need. Perhaps she was supposed to end up here again, though.. if she could have it her way she never would return. Still, she was here now and she needed to deal with that fact.

Rachel had seemingly been off in her own world of memories and pain that she didn't realize at first the hurried beeping happening behind her. It wasn't until she could hear the echoing call of Cortana's voice that she turned and faced the Spartan.

"Chief! Chief! " Cortana yelled from within the suit.

Chief was leaning against one of the metal walls trying to support himself. It seemed that the long journey and over exhaustion of his body and suit had taken his toll. Rachel rushed over, only now noticing the severe damage caused to his armor. However she wasn't fast enough and Chief crashed to the ground with a rather loud thud as his heavy armor made contact with the cold hard floor.

Rachel dropped to her knee's and turned him on his side. "Chief!" she said trying to wake him, or see if he was alright.

"He's alive, just exhausted. His body finally shut down when his suit couldn't compensate anymore." Cortana explained still speaking through the helmet.

Rachel let out a breath of relief. The last thing she wanted was to lose the only companion , and chance at survival, and be left alone in this place. It would do nothing short of drive her to commit suicide.

"He's okay for now but.. if his suit doesn't repair properly and his body doesn't get the necesarry nutrients.." Coratana didn't continue as the outcome was pretty obvious.

Rachel was silent for a moment. " I have somewhere we can take him." she said slowly.

"A regular med-bay won't do anything short of prolong his state. He's a SPARTAN there's certain medicines and injections he requires, not to mention the repair of his suit can only be achieved by certain machines and calibrations so unless you have a secret area that specialized for Spartan's somewhere in this base there's no use." Cortana said clearly upset with the present situation.

Rachel smirked. " Like I said, I have somewhere we can take him." Cortana was silent as Rachel slowly, very slowly, pulled Chief to his feet and placed her arm around him supporting him the best that she could. Damn was he ever heavy. Any regular marine, hell any regular human wouldn't be able to support this weight for more than a few feet but.. as if it weren't obvious by now, Rachel wasn't the average marine or human.


	6. Once a SPARTAN, always a SPARTAN

**Author's notes : hm. i don't know what happened to the last chapter and why it was a huge wall of text but i fixed it. anyway enjoy!**

**Master Chief**

His eyes slowly opened. Blinking several times he could hear a soft humming noise surrounding him. Looking around he was on a bed inside of large room. There was a separate door that, by the looks of it led into a bathroom. On one end there was a wall lined with terminals that had different screens that displayed a variety of different information. Glass cases lined the other side of the wall and all contained pieces of his SPARTAN armor. That was when he noticed that he wasn't wearing it. His hand rose to his face as he touched his flesh. It had been a long time since he removed that armor, it was nice to feel his body breathe again.

Wondering slightly how he got here, he swung his strong muscular legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Stretching out the kinks in his body, it was nice to have his skin breathe again. He wasn't wearing a shirt and was in nothing but standard military issue boxers, clean ones. And was that.. it was, the smell of fresh soap. It was obvious he had been bathed as well. His eyes narrowed for a moment, Rachel was the only other human in this base...he wondered if she was the one that had done all this. That would be most uncomfortable.

Moving over to the glass cases where his armor was displayed prominently, he wondered how he was supposed to get it all back on. It took a machine last time, he couldn't simply pull it on like a jogging suit.

' Ah, Master Chief it is good to see you up and operating again." A computerized voice rang out through the small room, a rather annoying voice.

Chief looked around, startled by the sudden voice. His eyes focused on a small shaft in the wall that opened as a shperical object entered the room. It resembled that of GUILTY SPARK 343. Chief took a step backwards cautiously remembering how much trouble that oracle had put him through upon their previous encounters. The orb seemed to zoom in on Chief and scan him.

" Ah, I sense the caution in you. It has to do with the previous encounter of another who bares the same face as I, correct?" the voice said as it hovered in front of John. " Do not worry, I am not the same terminal as my ... lets call it distant cousin." the orb tried to explain, relating it to the human terminology.

" How did I get here?" Chief asked, eyeing the floating oracle.

"Ah well, you were surrounded by the covenant and were forced to -"

" I mean into this room, de-clothed and.. cleaned." John interrupted him. " I know how I got into the base." he said slowly, making it clear that he hadn't lost his memory, just his armor and clothing. And perhaps some pride depending on how he got naked and cleaned.

"Oh well, Lt. Fleming carried you into this medical room and into the machine. After setting the machine she left and it began to detach your armor and remove your clothing which then led to the cleansing of your body and healing and re nourishment. Ah, and I was instructed to make sure that everything ran smoothly and you made a full recover which, I am proud to say, has gone through properly. " the orb said, shifting in the air.

"She.. carried me?" Chief asked surprised, knowing full well that he weight thousands of pounds with that armor on.

" Well.. I wouldn't say carried as much as dragged you in. Created quite a mess in the hallway, the droids were not to happy about cleaning that up but, what can you do." the orb chirped.

Chief crossed his arms over his bare, scarred, chest and let out a sigh. His hard eyes scanned the room once more, glancing over to his armor then back at the orb. " I would like to be put back into my armor. " he stated calmly.

"Of course! Right away. If you could just put on the mandatory body suit and then step into the machine you will be re-assembled." the orb said as one of the floorboards shifted and a large machine rose through the hole. Also, one of the cases opened displaying the body suit that he was to put on. It made wearing the armor more comfortable and helped to monitor the body's vitals, also functioning as many different things such as better movement capabilities, monitoring brainwaves and much more.

Without another word, Chief pulled the body suit on over his toned and muscular body, zipping it up appropriately. Then, stepping into the machine he eyed it slowly. It was an exact replica of the others that he had ever been in. Just what was this facility.

As he stepped in, the claws of the machine began to equip the pieces of armor to him, small needles digging into his body and soft clicks, as well as the sound of the hydraulic arms, echoing through the small room as Chief was ' put back together. Stepping out of the machine, Chief adjusted his helmet and stretched out his arm.

" Ah, very good, very good. Lieutenant Fleming and Cortana await your presence in the comm room." the sphere informed him heading back through the opening he appeared from as it closed behind him.

Chief lightly touched the back of his helmet where Cortana's chip would usually gone and found that it wasn't there. Though, within the system of the base it was probably better for her, at least she could gain more information on what this place was and the back story of that lieutenant.

Chief exited the room and moved through the hallways, following the directions that would lead him to the comm room. The door slid open and he stepped in. Inside, Rachel was seated at the center console of a long wall of holographic terminals and large screens. On a pedestal beside her was the holographic image of Cortana. They were both engaged in a conversation when Chief walked in, they both stopped.

Peering over her shoulder, Rachel spotted Chief and smiled. She was clothed in standard military camo pants with a black tank top, her dog tags dangling around her neck and her hair resting over her shoulders.

"Ah, you're awake." Rachel said softly.

Chief simply nodded as he took several more steps into the room and was now standing behind Rachel and the wall of consoles and terminals.

"How long was I out?" he asked curious.

" Fifty two hours, twenty-eight minutes, and thirty-two seconds." a voice chimed in, not belonging to Cortana or Rachel.

Chief's eyes traveled over to the form of the spherical orb as it entered the room through another shaft in the wall. Had that oracle been right? He was out for two days? His body must have been more exhausted than he thought. Though, without proper rest or nourishment for a couple days it would only make sense.

"So, what's the status?" Chief asked looking from Rachel to Cortana.

"Well, we've been trying to contact the UNSC via the communication relays but.. still no answer. We've sent out a coded broadcast to any marines that may be stranded out there to lock in on the transmission and we will provide them with safety and shelter but.. nothing there either." Rachel answered.

"Also, looking through the files in this base and speaking with Rachel, it was a base where soldiers were trained and housed as well as a research facility. It extends nearly 20, 000 feet into the ground surrounded by the strong alloy that's nearly impossible to penetrate. It has a fully equipped armory, a SPARTAN intelligence and med section, a regular med-bay, mess hall, common room, kitchen, communication room, strategy room, observation, training, hardware and the core. " Cortana explained going through the different sections of the base.

"What about the research part, shouldn't there be a lab?" Chief asked curiously.

"Well there is, it's located on the lower levels but they're sealed off." Cortana answered. " I've been trying to get through the fire walls and disengage the locks but haven't had any luck yet and.. Rachel has advised against it." Cortana said looking from the Lieutenant to Master Chief.

"Why?" Chief asked, turning his attention to the Lieutenant.

Rachel was silent at first as she turned back to the screen." It's better left untouched..there's nothing down there that will do anybody any good." she said with a solemn look on her face.

Glancing at Cortana, the A.I simply shook her head and Chief did nothing, deciding to leave it alone for now. He knew that Cortana would, against Rachel's wishes, still try to get through to the lab.

Rachel then rose from her seat and faced the Chief." Take a walk with me Chief. There's something you need to see." she said with a smile on her face as she walked past him and towards the door.

"I'll stay here and continue sifting through the files, see if I can find anything that will help us." she said as Chief nodded and turned to follow the Lieutenant.

They walked through some halls and through several doors until they entered a dark room with a lonely light on in the corner. Rachel flicked some switched as the fluorescent lights turned on and there were walls that stretched for a very long length. The walls were adorned with weapons of every shape, size and caliber. There were cases that housed different kinds of armor and plating, and many different articles that would belong to Spartans and be essential for Spartan training.

Rachel stood with her hands on her hips and a wide grin on her face. " Well, what do you think?" she asked looking over at him as he walked up beside her.

"Impressive." Chief answered as he admired the wide range of weaponry. They began walking through the room, his eyes coursing over the many selection of weaponry, his hands brushing over some of them. It was nice to see something like this, a paradise of sorts during these trying times. To think that a mother load like this awaited them under the surface. The UNSC never did seize to surprise him.

" It has everything you need." Rachel said as they continued to walk through the room.

Stopping suddenly, Chief turned to see what Rachel was staring at. In a glass case there was what appeared to be a black Spartan outfit that had a light pink outline in certain areas. It wasn't like Chief's armor. It was lighter and less bulky than his. Looking from Rachel to the armor he could see a look of recognition in her eyes. Curious he took a step forward looking from the armor to her once more. His eyes narrowed as he sized up the armor to her body frame.

"You're a Spartan." Chief said slowly. Her eyes widened slowly and then moved to the ground.

" I was.. once." she said slowly .

It all made sense now. Her agility, her reflexes, her intelligence even her strength. All clear signs of Spratan training. How did he not notice it sooner. Perhaps the lack of armor and weaponry threw him off. Even so.. he should have realized it sooner."

"Shall we suit you up again, Lieutenant?" a voice rang out as the orb hovered around them.

Rachel looked up the orb then back at her armor. " No, I don't think that will be happening again Tim." she said with an almost sad tone. " That part of my life is over. I'm not a Spartan anymore." she said turning away from the display case and continuing to walk through the room.

'Ah, for shame. I was quite looking forward to seeing the fearless headhunter in action again. Ah well." the orb said following after Rachel.

Chief's eyes remained on the Spartan armor. He was silent for a moment, and still. Thinking about the situation he wondered why she didn't want to get back into her suit. For Chief, it was like his home and being a Spartan was his pride. How could she not feel the same? No matter, they were both great warriors, and having another suited Spartan would be a great asset and improve their odds of survival ten fold. No, there was no other option she would get back into that suit if he had to put her in himself.

"Lieutenant." Chief called out in his synthesized voice.

Rachel stopped suddenly turning to face him, her eyes narrowed. " Since when did we become so formal?" she asked with a smirk.

"Put you armor on." Chief said motioning to it in the case.

Rachel gave him a puzzled look and turned slowly. " What? No.. I.. I can't do that." she said slowly. " I'm not a Spartan anymore."

Chief was silent at first, becoming annoyed. " Spartans aren't made, they aren't created or duplicated they're chosen. You were a Spartan from your birth and that hasn't a changed. Once a Spartan, always a Spartan. The suit isn't what makes you a Spartan, you're what makes the suit a Spartan." he said with pride. "With the both of us and our set of skills we have a good chance at turning this thing around and getting out of here, now as your commanding officer Lieutenant, I'm ordering you to get into that suit." he said sternly.

Rachel just looked at him, obviously shocked that he was pulling out the rank card. Chief was a well deserved leader, and deserved the title bestowed upon him but he rarely ever used his rank to his full potential and didn't care for ordering others around. He was given a job and he got the job done, but for right now he decided to use it.

"It's been so long though.. it'll be hard for me to re-adjust and fight properly." she said.

"Then I will re-train you." Chief answered. There was no excuse great enough short of her being dead, that he wouldn't let her get away with not getting into that suit.

"Get ready and meet me in the training grounds at 14:00 hours. " he instructed. " Now suit up Spartan." he said with a commanding tone as he turned to and began making his way towards the training grounds, leaving Rachel to prepare.


	7. Human

**Rachel**

Breathing slowly, Rachel stepped out of the machine that had equipped the different pieces of armor to her body. Wincing slightly as she moved it was hard to readjust to the feeling of the armor. Although no where near as heavy as Chief's armor, it was still heavier than she was used to and it caused her some pain when it was equipped to her body. Something that would take some getting used to, after all it had been quite some time since she wore her suit.

Unlike Chief, her armor was different because she was a different type of Spartan. She was a SPARTAN III. Her armor was less powerful than that of the SPARTAN II such as Chief. Specifically designed to be lighter and more efficient with stealth. Equipped with several different upgrades to it, including active camo, armor lock, hologram, and an attachable jet pack. Rachel's was always equipped with the active camouflage function seeing as how she excelled in stealth.

After a quick overview of her armor and a check to make sure that all systems were operating properly, Rachel made her way over to the training room where she knew that Chief was waiting for her.

Entering slowly, there were mats along the floor and wall and nothing but wide open space. Though,she knew the walls were interchangeable and could be changed a shooting range or any other kind of training facility with the simple pushing of some buttons. Being in her brought back memories of when she used to train with her old unit.

" Spartan." Chief's voice pulled Rachel from her thoughts.

As a regular officer she outranked Chief, but as a Spartan, he outranked her. Receiving the title of ' Master Chief ' after all was no easy feat, and not lightly given. So, she would need to listen to him for the time being.

"We're going to start off with basic hand-to-hand combat. " Cheif said as he got into a fighting stance. Rachel simply nodded as she too got into a stance. " This will help you with not only your fighting skill but it will also help your body movement readjust to your armor and eventually you will be able to move swiftly and fluidly with little to no resistance at all." he said slowly explaining their exercise. He knew that her body was just getting used to the armor again, and would help her through. " Let's begin "

Rachel took a deep breath as she swung at Chief who easily avoided her attack and countered by grabbing her arm and holding it against her back. With his strength it wasn't easy to break out of, and she didn't. When he released her slowly stretched out her arm as she could feel the armor pulling against her skin in an uncomfortable way, this was going to be a long couple of days.

A few days later, Chief and Rachel stood across from each other in the training room. He began attacking her, which she successfully dodged and avoided. He may be stronger but she was faster. Turning on her heel she hit him a few times causing him to stagger back. However, she grew to confident and moved to hit him again but left herself open. Chief took this opportunity and landed a hard kick to her chest causing her to fly across the room colliding with the padded wall. Her armor took most of the damage but she could still feel the rattling of her bones within. Her shields dropped completely and bit of static radiated off of her armor as it began recharging her shields.

Standing slowly she was breathing hard as she was slightly hunched over. That kick was damn hard and she could feel the after affects beginning to take place. Slowly regaining her composure she got into a fighting stance swaying slightly. Taking a deep breath she stared at Chief wondering why he was just standing there watching her.

"Sessions over for today." he said finally as he turned to leave the room .

Rachel cursed slightly as she raced towards him and swung out her arm to strike him in the back. But Chief was fast and he quickly turned grabbing her arm. " That's enough Spartan." he said in a more serious tone as he threw her arm away knocking her off balance. But Rachel was stubborn, lashing out again Chief continuously blocked her attacks. Finally grabbing her in a semi-bear hug he held both of her arms behind her back and turned her facing her the opposite way. " I said that's enough." he said again sternly.

As she was pushed away Rachel was breathing heavy, her shoulders rising and falling with her wavering breaths. Pulling off her helmet she threw it to the ground with a thud. " No that's not enough!" she said anger coursing through her veins, Chief just simply stood there looking at her. Rachel was angry, she was tired and she was frustrated. " It was you who pushed me to do this, you who said that I should be the Spartan! And now you're telling me enough ! " she said in one breath. Sweat was evident on her brow and her face was a bit pale, though she was so enraged that she barely noticed. " I'll tell you when it's enough !" she shouted as she began to feel light headed. Suddenly her world turned black and she fell, not noticing that Chief was fast to catch her.

-

Waking to a pounding headache, Rachel slowly opened her eyes. Lifting her hand to her temple she massaged it gently as she regained focus and looked around. She was laying on one of the beds in the med bay. Sitting up slowly she was surprised to find that she was only wearing a standard UNSC outfit. Thinking back to what happened she wondered how she got here.

"Ah, Lieutenant Fleming you're awake!" A voice exclaimed delighted. The floating orb hovered around her as the ' eye ' in the middle widened and retracted. " How are you feeling?" it asked her with no hint of emotion in it's tone.

"Like a pair of hunters just used my head as drums." she said continuing to rub her temples with a slight moan.

" Yes well, you were quite ill. You had a fever of 104 and your body was terribly weak! " he said explaining what had happened. " You were too busy yelling at Master Chief that you barely noticed the fever or how ill you actually felt. Your rage did a good job in covering it up." he said.

Rachel's hand dropped to her side as she let out a Long sigh. Remembering back to what happened she felt bad for yelling at Chief like that. " How did I get here? And...dressed in this?" she asked eyeing the floating robot.

" Master Chief brought you here after a heroic catch, saved you anymore damage or headache. " the robot explained, answering the first inquiry. "As for how your clothed, once you were brought into the med bay, Cortana saw to it that you were removed from you armor and put into something more complicated. Do not worry she overlooked the whole thing, I didn't peak I promise." he said again, no noticeable tone.

"Hm." Was all that came as a reply from her glad that it was at least a female A.I that de-clothed her. Of course, they didn't have any feelings or reactions like humans but still.. she felt better that it was a female who dealt with that part. "Where is Master Chief now?" she asked looking at the orb.

"Sensors tell me that he is currently in the communication room conversing with Cortana. " he informed her.

Rachel nodded standing from the bed and making her way over to the exit. Walking through the florescent hall she thought about what she could say to Chief. Sorry for one, after yelling at him when he was just trying to help her. Thank you for another as he had caught her from falling and suffering any more injury.

With a sigh she couldn't shake the feeling of guilt. She wasn't mad at him, she really had no reason to be. But with the memories that had crept up on her and the feeling of being back in this place, it had all just hit her at once and he was the only one close enough for her to take her anger out on. It wasn't fair to him and she knew that, he had saved her life countless times and offered his own time to train her to becomes stronger so that they could both survive. They only had each other now until they could get a hold of command. The last thing she wanted was to ruin whatever decency there was between them. For all she knew he could very well be the last human left on this planet.

By the time she was done all her thinking she had reached the comm room. The door slid open with a hiss as she entered. Apparently interrupting a conversation between Cortana and Chief she slowed her steps as they both turned to face her.

"Good to see you up and well." Cortana spoke first, breaking the silence.

Rachel nodded slightly with a small smile." Thank you." she said slowly. " I'm gad it was you that undressed me instead of TIM." she said appreciatively.

Cortana smiled. " Yes well, I figured it would be weird if a .. male A.I dealt with you while you were.. in a more vulnerable position." Cortana said with a small laugh. For an A.I she definitely had a unique personality.

"Now, now are you implying that I would somehow defile the lieutenant while she as in a very exposed and vulnerable nature?" the orb said as it hovered into the room through it's designated hole in the wall.

" I've never trusted your kind, so.. it's very well possible." Cortana spoke crossing her arms over her chest.

"I am insulted that you would think such things." the orb said in a faked exasperated tone.

Cortana simply rolled her eyes as she looked over to Rachel. Rachel smiled and let out a small laugh at the female A.I's reaction. Looking from Cortana to Chief, who was standing there silent, she rubbed the back of her neck slowly." Uh, Chief. Could I speak to you for a moment." she said a bit nervous.

Chief just nodded his head and began making his way out of the comm room knowing she would follow. They walked through the long hallway in silence until they reached the mess where Chief finally turned and faced her in no particular stance.

Rachel fidgeted uncomfortably as she turned away from the armored giant in front of her, talk about intimidating. " I.. just wanted to say thank you and that I'm sorry." she began, he remained silent. " I shouldn't have yelled and reacted the way I did it's just.." she trailed off for a moment, her eyes falling to the ground then back up at him. " This place brings back memories, most of them unpleasant. Being put back into my armor all of a sudden and training as a soldier it just.. " she sighed rubbing her neck again through her long brunette hair, which only now she realized was flowing loosely around her shoulders. " All of it just hit me at once and I didn't realize what I was doing or saying and I.." she sighed again. " I'm sorry." she said finally looking up at him, as though she could see his eyes through the golden visor.

" It's okay." he said finally after a moment of silence. " I know that a soldier's life can be a hard one, especially one of a Spartan. " he started shifting his stance slightly. " It's a lot of pressure to bare on one's shoulder and it's only understandable that it gets to us once in a while. It's what proves we're human." he said, she swore she could sense a bit of softness in his tone when he said it, but she couldn't be too sure. His voice was always monotone, if anything she was just dreaming things.

Rachel managed a small smile as she nodded her head. " It's good to be reminded once in a while, otherwise we feel just like machines." she said with a small laugh.

"Well, we look the part." Chief said motioning to the armor.

Rachel couldn't tell if he was smirking under his helmet, but she had a feeling he was.

After all, he was human too.


	8. Not Alone

**Rachel.**

Both Chief and Rachel sat in the mess for a while sharing a meal. Rachel listened intently as he told her of his journeys from the first Halo ring up until what happened on Earth and how he and Cortana ended up in half a ship floating in space. Rachel was astonished at everything that he had accomplished and how he had powered through it all for the survival of the human race and Earth.

"So, let me get this straight. There's an alliance between the Elite's and the humans now?" she asked awed by this information.

Chief nodded slowly. " And with some grunts and jackals, even Hunters. Those who chose not to follow the Prophets." Chief explained.

"I see." she said leaning back in her chair." If only it were the same here." she said with a small sigh.

" It appears as though the news of a treaty hasn't reached here yet. For either side." he said, it was the only reasonable explanation.

Rachel's eyes moved to the table as she was silent for a moment. " We've been forgotten, and that ship is the only chance we have of getting anywhere and they're not answering." she said with a solemn look on her face.

"Last I was on that ship the commander gave me the instructions to help retrieve the date from that terminal supposedly containing calibrations that would jump start the frigate's engines." he explained.

" I don't trust that bastard, I never have! Not since he... " Rachel stopped herself looking at the ground again as the memories came flooding back.

"What happened here?" Chief finally asked breaking the silence.

Rachel contemplated on whether or not she should tell him, her eyes still focused on the ground. It wasn't something that she would enjoy talking about but.. she knew he would have to know, if not it wouldn't be long before Cortana broke through the firewalls and found out herself. May as well let him know.

" When we first came here six years ago, it was an ideal place for the training that we needed to do. There were twelve of us. Only eight made it through the rest of the Spartan training as you know.. is challenging. " she said knowing that not all of the people made it through. The memory of the pain came back to her as she thought about it. " Our group was led by Staff Sergeant Monroe. The research head was Doctor Chambers. And, you've already met Captain Woods." she said as he nodded slowly. " After the training was completed for the Spartans we were sent out on various missions to retrieve certain pieces from wreckage's or old Forerunner buildings, even had to protect scientists as they went to gather samples of some plants and animals and even some of the covenant." she said as she took a sip of coffee that she had made earlier.

"We would bring them all back and they would be rushed off to the lab immediately. We never went into the lab, never. We never thought anything of it we assumed it was all testing tubes and computers, nothing we'd need to get involved with anyway. Oh we were so stupid, we should've went and checked it out earlier." she spoke, the last part more to herself than Chief. A look of regret and sadness washed over her face.

" Slowly, one by one, the Spartans started to disappear. They'd be asked to go into the lab to help the doctor with something. Days would go by and we wouldn't see them again then we'd be told that they were shipped off to another planet or another base or something. ' They'd been relocated '. That's what they always told us and we believed it." she said the sadness and regret replaced with anger. " Kaiden would always tell me there was something going on, something not right. I never believed him, told him he was over thinking things. I was a fool. " she paused taking a deep breath. " There was only three of us left, me, Alenko and Avery. We had a plan, to get inside the lab and find out just what the hell they were doing. Alenko said that he would volunteer to go in, ask if they needed any help but I was against him I told him no. He did it anyway. Activating the tracker on him he went in. After a day passed, they told us the same story ; he got relocated. I knew that was a lie, his tracker was still activated and said he was in there." she said, the anger dissipating.

" Avery and I suited up, kicked down the door and charged in there. Smith went for the doctor and I searched for Alenko. When I stepped into that room I saw..rows of tubes, big ones filled with people. Then there were tables that had more people on it and animals and some plants. To the side there was piles of..body parts. I recognized some of the bodies as my fellow Spartans, they were never relocated. They were killed and chopped up as some kind of experiment." she said angrily. Her eyes looked up at Chief then re focused to their place on the table. " Then I saw him.. he was strapped down to a table, needles sticking out of him and many open cuts. There was blood everywhere, it was then that I realized the smell..I just." she took in a deep breath as her eyes became glossy, but she wouldn't cry.

" Avery dragged the doctor into the room and he saw everything the as well. I should've questioned the doctor, but.. I didn't. Impulse took over. Raising my pistol I fired every last shot into her skull." Rachel spoke with a solid look on her face as a single tear rolled down her cheek. " After that we killed every single last scientist and then left sealing the lab and leaving it all behind us. " Looking up at Chief she sat up straighter and wiped her cheek. " After that we took off our suits and clothed ourselves into regular marine outfits joining up with the marines on the field and following after the Captain's orders. That was when I met you and well, the rest is history." she said finishing her story of what happened as she took another sip.

Her hands rested on the table as a moment of silence ensued between them. She could feel her hands shake as she willed them to stop but they wouldn't. The memory of it all just brought back so many emotions and feelings it took everything inside of her not to cry. She jumped slightly at the feeling of something on her hand, looking up she saw Chief resting his gloved hands on hers stopping them from shaking.

"It's not easy losing your entire team, then having to deal with the loss of someone close to you." he said slowly, his monotone voice laced with understanding. He pulled his hand away from hers and slowly rose to his feet. " You need to live on in memory of them and fight for them always. Do what would make them proud." he said with a nod as he turned and walked away leaving Rachel to her thoughts.

She sat there for another couple of minutes, staring at her hands. Thinking about the warmth that had come from his she was almost sad to feel it go. But his words, he must've known, must have gone through something like what she went through. At least she knew she wasn't alone.


	9. Here We Go Again

Master Chief

Seated in the room that was given to him, Chief sat on a chair near the weapons locker as he cleaned his assault rifle and pistol. He had spoke with Cortana telling her about the conversation he had with Rachel and what had went on in the lab. Cocking the pistol he aimed it in front of him making sure it lined up properly.

" If what she says is true Chief, then we need to get down there and get the documents to prove it." Cortana said, putting on hand on her hip looking at him.

Chief nodded his head. " See what you can do about the firewalls. In the morning I'll check to see if she's ready to go down there." he said turning to leave.

Cortana raised a holographic eyebrow. " Waiting until she's ready, Chief?" Cortana questioned knowing full well that at something this important would have to be taken care of right away not when someone was ' ready ' for it, emotionally or mentally.

"She knows this place better than us, she'd be able to navigate it better." he said quickly explaining why he was waiting on her, and without another word exited the room.

Placing his pistol on the table he thought back to the look in Rachel's eyes when she spoke about the experiment's and what had gone on int he lab's. Chief could tell that it pained her to talk about it and relive those memories. Losing an entire team to something horrible such as experiments was unthinkable. Not to mention losing someone very important to you without having the chance to save them.

Chief knew what it was like, he understood. He had lost his entire time and he had lost her...

Kelly...

Standing in the mess hall, Chief was examining his weapons one last time before fastening them securely on his body. He had already put Cortana inside of his helmet and T.I.M was hovering in front of him oddly, not saying anything. It was quite annoying.

When Rachel entered the room Chief looked up to see her. Dressed in a regulation marine outfit she had a pistol at her hip an a battle rifle in her hands. They were still unsure of what remained down there and if there was the off chance that they were met with any resistance they would be prepared to fully defend themselves.

With a quick nod Rachel turned and headed down towards the lab, Chief following her slightly. As they walked through the long fluorescent hallway, Chief could feel themselves heading lower into the facility. He remembered that it was no easy feat to try and convince her to do this.

"No." she answered quickly staring at him.

Chief expected that. " We need to retrieve the information and the data on what happened on what they did." he tried to explain in his monotone voice.

"I don't care. You can go down there but I'm not going." she said crossing her arms.

"We need you down there, you know this place better than us and you can help us identify fallen soldier's." he said making a valid point.

"I'm not going back down there.." she said as she turned away from him, her hand hanging slightly. " I can't." she said finally, almost a whisper.

Chief understood, he knew why she wouldn't go. The last thing she wanted to see was her cut up teammates again and the piles of body pieces. He couldn't blame her. Stepping forward Chief placed a hand on her shoulder and was silent for a moment.

" It's not going to be easy but, don't you think you would be able to rest better knowing that your teammates, your fellow Spartans, receive a proper burial and recognition for their greatness and their strength rather then just rot away in some lab." he said trying to convince her. " You need to go down there, one last time. You need to make peace with it, with yourself. It will get rid of the nightmares, I promise." he said as his hand slid from her shoulder.

Her head turned quickly as she looked at him, her eyes narrowed. " How did you know I had nightmares?" she asked curiously.

" Because I went through the same thing once." he stated simply. " So, will you come?" he asked her.

Nodding her head slowly Chief returned it with a nod of his own and exited her room, glad that he finally convinced her.

Standing in front of the lab doors, Rachel approached the terminal in front of it. " I can get us access but I put up the fail safe firewalls and sealed it so that it wouldn't be open again." she explained.

"I've already taken care of the firewalls. Once you input the proper code it should allow us access." Cortana informed them.

Rachel nodded and turned back to the terminal. Inputting the correct codes the screen flashed green and the gears shifted. Finally, the metal door opened and Chief readied his pistol. Stepping in first he made sure the path was clear as she followed alongside him. The entryway was a long hallway and on either sides were windows that looked in on several different rooms that had different medical and scientific stations where research was conducted. Dry blood lined the walls as dead scientists littered the floor of the rooms and some in the hallway. No doubt from when Rachel and her comrade made their exit the last time she was here.

Pushing onwards, the hallway split off into different directions, but they kept to the middle one following Rachel's lead. Her steps were hesitant and Chief picked up on it, but as long as she didn't turn and leave he didn't mind taking it slow. Besides, it didn't look like there would be any kind of resistance.

The long hall finally opened up into a large room. Stopping suddenly when Rachel remained at the entrance Chief looked at her slowly. Her eyes were focused on the ground and she remained silent. Moving more into the room Chief took note of the tubes that lined the walls that had bodies in them, with missing limbs and parts on several of them. In the middle of the room was the body of another scientist, and by the looks of the bullet holes in her head it was the head scientist and the one that Rachel had killed. Luckily, Chief's suit had a ventilation system that filtered his air and he didn't go through the unpleasant experience of the smell that lingered in the room.

"There." Cortana said as Chief looked at a computer terminal beside the tubes. Walking over to it, he removed the chip from his helmet and placed it into the terminal. Cortana's holo appeared and she was silent as she sifted through the data banks and history of what happened here.

Chief took note of the piles of different body parts and the tables with different species that were hacked apart. It was as Rachel described. It was a grizzly sight to come upon and he was surprised at how mentally stable Rachel was after having gone through all this considering it affected her directly since it was her teammates who endured it all right under her nose.

At the sound of crinkling plastic, Chief brought his weapon up quick but soon lowered it when he saw Rachel standing beside a table in the corner. A light shone overhead as it revealed the decaying body of a man. There were many open pieces of his body and dried blood all around him. Another grueling sight that must have tore Rachel up inside.

Stopping himself, he mildly wondered why he was so concerned about what the Lieutenant was thinking or feeling at the moment. He never cared about others and their personal affairs so why now?

" Cheif," Cortana's voice rang pulling him from his own self assessment. " I've got access to all of the doctor's files. It says here that they were collecting different samples and using human test subjects to create the ultimate super soldier." she said summarizing the purpose of the experiments.

"Why create super soldier's when SPARTANS existed?" Chief questioned as he examined the pictures in front of him that Cortana pulled up on the screen.

"It says they were trying to create ones that couldn't die by modifying the DNA and body structure's of the SPARTAN III's. By modifying them they would already be dead but their brain would still function allowing them to fight and carry out orders, remaining husks that were technically dead but...still living." she said her voice trailing off.

Chief caught the hesitation in her words as he looked over at her. " Cortana?" he questioned. " How did they do this, what did they use?" he said slowly.

"They were using something alien, something deadly..a parasite." she said and Chief almost stiffened as he looked at her holo.

It was just the that there were sounds that seemed to echo around them. Chief held his weapon taught as he looked over at Rachel and motioned her over to him, checking the room carefully.

"What's wrong, what is it?" Rachel asked as she must've noticed his slow movements and how he had his weapon drawn.

"We need to get out of here, now!" he said anxiously as he looked at Rachel who held a confused look on her face. " There's no time explain, move!" he said in a commanding tone as she nodded. They both stopped suddenly as the scratching noise that he heard drew closer until finally a hatch broke and out poured small weird looking creatures that walked on many legs. "Shit." Chief said as he began shooting the popcorn looking parasite. Quickly grabbing the chip that was Cortana he inserted it back into his helemet.

One landed on the body of the Spartan who was on the table as it dug into its chest. Slowly, the body began to move and come to life. Standing with several open wounds and knives in its body it started towards them. Chief looked at it and glanced at Rachel who stood there frozen in shock.

"Kaiden..." he could hear her say as she took a step towards it. Chief quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. " Let go of me!" she protested as she tried to break his grip.

"That's not the same person anymore, he's dead. " Chief tried to tell her as he pulled her back. " That's not him." he said more sternly as she looked up at him. He almost wanted to wince at the look in her eyes but she turned away, sadly accepting his words.

Raising his pistol he quickly fired off three shots to the head of the now abomination and it dropped to the ground. " Come on." he said as he pulled her to the exit and let go continuing to fire his weapon. He saw as she ran ahead and fired at the parasites as well. Some of the scientists seemingly came to life and he shot them dead, again. Pulling out whatever grenade's he had on his person he threw them into the various rooms as they ran down the long hallway. Sliding through the door at the end it sealed shut behind them just as the grenade's went off.

Rising to his feet he looked from the door to Rachel. She spared him one glance and then turned to walk away. Chief lowered his weapon as he looked back at the door. " Cortana?" he said.

"All of the lower chambers have been sealed off. There's no entryways to the upper levels. We're safe as long as we stay out of the lab or refrain from going into any of the lower levels." she informed him in which Chief just replied with a nod.

Standing in the comm room, Chief had his arms crossed over his chest as he examined the screens in front of him. Cortana had once again pulled up all the research documents and there were even some video's and pictures of the experiments. Chief hated seeing them but he needed to understand what happened here, why fine men and women were sacrificed.

" There's no way that a squad of SPARTANS could have been easily taken down by mere scientists." Chief said, confident in the strengths and abilities of his fellow SPARTANS.

" They had it all planned out. When the Spartan would enter the lab they would have someone inject them with a paralyzing agent that slowed the heart rate of the person and rendered their entire body useless for up to three hours. By the looks of the ingredients it was a very potent mixture." Cortana explained.

"These men and women were strong, skilled, smart.. how could they inject them so easily?" he wondered as he tried to place himself in that situation thinking of how he would react and how he wouldn't give them a single chance to do anything.

"Well there's mention of some causalities from those who lashed out but, as for how they did it well, they made them feel like they were safe, like they had nothing to worry about. Not to mention they weren't in their suits. They never saw it coming." Cortana said.

" They would never suspect an ally to do this, they were relaxed and unaware." Chief added, disgusted at what had happened. " And to top it all off they were experimenting with the flood." he said.

" There was a crashed ship that they found the parasite on. It was derelict according to their findings, dead. They brought it back here and did experiments on it. Brought it back to life, even mutated it." Cortana paused. " It's worse than any of the flood you've ever encountered...than I have." she said slowly allowing time for Chief to register just how serious a threat this was. " We have to destroy this base and more likely than not, this planet." she said seriously. " We can't let something like this get out, to either side. Rachel put a stop to it when she killed the scientists but all the data is still here and if someone else gets to it, or the mutated parasite get out... I don't think there will be anyway of stopping it." she said.

"Tell me what I need to do." Chief spoke finally, his arms lowered by his side. There was no way that he was going to let this get out. He saw what the Flood can do, what it causes. If they could end it here, he would do it.


	10. John 4:18

**Rachel**

Sitting in her room, Rachel had her knees pulled close to her chest as she rested her head on them and hugged her legs close. Staring at nothing for what seemed like forever, she couldn't get the pictures out of her head. She saw what the scientists had done, how they cut up her teammates, her friends, and she couldn't do anything about it. After going back down there and seeing Kaiden walk, it had brought all the feelings back, all the heartache and sadness. It was a living nightmare.

Rachel wanted to run and embrace him but Chief held her back, told her he was dead - brought her back to reality. Despite all the emotions rushing through her, and the impulses and urges that wanted to pill away from Chief, to yell that he was lying, she didn't. Beneath her frantic and emotional state she saw reason, she saw truth.

Years of training to be a soldier no, a spartan, did that to her. It made her put aside her feelings and emotions, made her think logically and strategically before anything else. Too long had Rachel not worn her suit, not acted like a true spartan. But Chief was right, once a spartan always a spartan. Although she may not realize it, her body will never forget. She needed to start acting like a spartan, to take up her role and make her teammates proud. The time for self loathing and reminiscing was over. She would never forget her fellow spartans. With each bullet she used to down an enemy, it would be in honor of the fallen. Sitting and crying about it wouldn't being them back, and neither would rejecting her destiny.

Standing, Rachel wiped her cheek from the falling tear. Eying her suit slowly, she knew that she needed to embrace her destiny and become the spartan she was always destined to be.

...

Standing in the training room, Rachel was suited up in her SPARTAN III attire. She had begun to stretch out some of her limbs so that her body could become comfortable. Looking into a piece of reflective metal she saw herself. It was a sight that she used to be seeing always, and one she needed to readjust too.

The door on the opposite side of the room opened and Master Chief entered. Looking over at him she stepped away from her improvised mirror and faced him as he approached her. They looked at each other for a couple moments.

"Are you sure you want to get back into training so soon?" he asked her, making sure.

Rachel didn't hesitate to answer. With a nod she got into a fighting position as Master Chief assumed the same. " Alright then, let us begin." and with that they began to fight testing their hand-to-hand combat.

...

Sitting in the mess, Chief and Rachel were both having a meal. It began silent at first until Rachel began to ask more questions about Chief's peril's from the Pillar of Autumn to when he fought to get back Cortana and the splitting of the ship he was in when it went through the wormhole. It was all so intriguing, and incredibly awesome it made Rachel realize just how strong Chief was. A model to all Spartans. Then came the questions of Master Chief's training and how he became a Spartan. Though she noticed he spoke of someone named Kelly a lot.

"Chief, tell me more about Kelly." Rachel said as she looked at him with curiosity.

Silent for a moment Chief nodded his head. " Well, like I said, I met her when I was first recruited into the Spartan program. We trained together and grew up together. There were many missions we completed and some where I had to save her. She was fast, very fast. Said to be the fastest human alive. Kelly could run up to speeds of 65km/h. Her nickname was ' rabbit '. Which she decided to get into by putting the emblem on her actual armor." he said

"Wow, that is fast. I could only imagine how much faster she became after the Spartan training and amplified suits." Rachel added.

Chief nodded slowly. " She was a great Spartan, better than most. Smart, funny, deadly. " he said slowly.

Rachel looked at him as he spoke and although she couldn't see his face she could only imagine the look he had in his eyes right now. As monotone as his voice was, she could hear the hint of emotion behind them.

"You loved her." Rachel said softly.

"Love? There wasn't time for love." Chief answered simply.

"There's always time for love." Rachel replied.

"Hm." came Chief's answer, although he was pondering the thought more deeply.

...

Hitting the ground hard, Rachel began to cough as the wind was knocked out of her. Quickly rolling to the side she jumped to her feet and ducked and dodged as Chief threw several more punches at her. He was stronger but she was faster. Adjusting to her suit she could move and avoid his hits, able to throw some of her own as well. Of course, hers didn't have as much impact as his did but it was still enough to through him off balance. Following up with a swift kick to the chest and a sweep with her feet under his Chief was knocked to the ground and Rachel landed ontop. However, Chief quickly used his body weight and strength and rolled her over pinning her down. The weight of her body kept her from moving as she tried to squirm free.

" I think we should move on to weapons training now." he said, still ontop of her as she replied with a nod.

...

" You spoke of Kelly in the past tense, did she.. die?" Rachel asked slowly, not wanting to make Chief feel uncomfortable by asking these questions.

"Spartans never die, they just become missing in action." he replied. " The last transmission of her came from the planet ONYX where her and another group of spartans both II's and III's had lured a large portion of he covenant army to the planet where they were to detonate nuclear warheads to wipe them out. " he said with a slight pause. "They were never heard from again." he added.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Rachel said sincerely.

Chief nodded slowly. " As am I, about Kaiden." he answered.

Rachel's eyes softened as he said this and a small smile appeared on her lips. It seemed that both of them were able to come to terms with the fate of their loved ones and move on to help the greater good of humanity.

Like true Spartans.

...

Shots rang through the training room as both Chief and Rachel stood on one end firing their bullets at targets situated on the opposite end of the room. This went on for a while as they fired several different weapons, even some of the covenants.

As the targets were checked to rate the accuracy, both Spartans had 110% accuracy on ever shot. Chief nodded as he was impressed that her accuracy and targets skills with a gun had never left her. Though it wasn't so surprising considering that Spartan training was intense and incredibly hard to forget. Though it was all for her to become used to her armor once more.

"You're good with a gun, there's no denying it. However, acquiring covenant weapons is very common when we're out on the battlefield, and one of my personal favourites.." he stopped as he reached into the weapons rack and grabbed a stick looking object. Activating it an energy sword formed as the familiar hum of the power surging through the blade surrounded them. " The energy sword." he ended.

Rachel reached for one and also activated it. As if on que they both ran at each other and began swinging the sword with grace and deadly precision.

...

"Dammit!" Rachel yelled in frustration.

"Something wrong?" Chief asked as he passed by the open door to her room.

Rachel looked over at him slightly startled. " Yeah, the damn machine in broken and stupid over there is taking forever to fix it. " she said motioning to the machine that removes and puts on the SPARTAN III armor and to T.I.M who was hovering in the air.

" If I was human I may have taken offense to that comment." the orb said as it continued to hover around the machine.

" I can have Cortona take a look at it." he said offering the assistance of the A.I.

Rachel nodded slowly. " Thanks, but I'm dying for a shower and I can't exactly do that inside of this." she said pointing to her armor. Her helmet was already off seeing as how it was easily removable. " And I've been trying to manually remove it but whoever the genuis was that invented these damn suits placed all of the buttons and devices at the back so I can't even reach it." she said blowing a piece of her auburn hair from her face.

"I could always assist in helping with the manual removal of your armor." Chief said before really thinking about how that sounded.

Rachel's eyebrow rose slightly at his offer and she nodded. Though it was rather unlikely she would ever get a male to help remove her amor, he was the only other human here and she really needed a shower. " Okay Chief, I'll take you up on that offer." she said, which she thought he wasn't suspecting because he just stood there for a moment before approaching her with a nod.

Rachel turned so that her back faced him and she puled all her hair that cascaded down her back so that he could see and have easier access. Rachel felt as he pushed several different buttons and the amor that was tight to her skin began to release and come apart as he slowly pulled the pieces off of her body. About fifteen minutes went by and his was finally done removing the pieces of her armor, leaving her in her black, tight, body suit.

Turning around, Rachel shook her head allowing her auburn hair to fall over her shoulders once more as she looked at Chief. " Thank you." she said with a smile as Chief simply nodded.

" I'll go inform Cortana now ." he said as he turned and exited the room heading to the comm room.

...

Run, jump, duck, roll, dodge, jump and roll.

Rachel moved fast through the obstacle course maneuvering herself through and around any obstacle in her way. It was a course specially designed to test the skills and limits of Spartans. It wasn't any kind of normal course, it had real dangers in it. Spinning blades, turrets that fired bullets and plasma shots, large hols, rotating platforms that stood over spikes. This was no joke.

Standing on one of the platforms, she could feel it moving beneath her feet as it was beginning to fall apart. Meters in front of her was single rope and beyond the rope a tall wall. Over the wall was the end of the obstacle course. However, hovering turrets and sentinels emerged from holes in the wall and began firing at her. Rachel had several shots left in her battle rifle as she fired at the turrets and sentinals. Dropping one turret and one sentinel she threw her gun at one of the remaining two causing it to sway in the air off balance for a moment.

Ducking she avoided the beam of the sentinel and using her momentum to get back up she jumped for the dangling rope as the platform she was on fell apart. Grabbing the rope she slid down a bit until she got a tighter hold. The sentinel had come around and the turret stabilized itself as they began firing at her again. Pushing herself she was able to swing herself back and forth onthe rope. The beam and some of the bullets had hit her and was beginning to drop her shields.

With one final swing she jumped from the rope to the wall. Grabbing the legdge she moved to pull herself up but it began to crumble from her weight and she had nothing left to hold on to. The bullet hammered into hr and the wall taking chunks out of it and the beam had focused straight on her back dropping her bullets completely until she could feel the heat burn into her skin. Still trying to pull herself up, the bullets ripped at the wall even more until it gave way and she began falling into the pit of spikes.

Stopping suddenly in dead air she looked up to see Master Chief hanging over the side of the wall holding onto her wrist, while with the other hand he shot down the sentinel and the turret. Pulling her up, Rachel winced slightly from the pain in her back. Chief positioned her on her side slowly as it was evident he was aware of the injury on her back.

Rachel's suit wouldn't stop beeping, signaling that her shields were down and on the inside HUD of her helmet it displayed her health and the damage done to her body. Scoffing at the readings she tried to stand, but Chief was there to steady her.

" Let's get you to the med bay." he said as he helped her out of the training room.

...

Rachel stood in the kitchen as she prepared herself a hot cappuccino. Leaning against the counter she wondered what Chief was doing. For the past two weeks he had been helping her get back on her feet, training her and helping her get used to her suit again. He had done so much for her and in return what had she done? Given him a hard time that's for sure. Not to mention a new problem, a new headache to deal with because of what happened in the lower labs. Grabbing another cup she decided that she would bring him a cappuccino as well and thank him for everything that he had done. It wouldn't amount to what he had done for her but, it was something.

Walking down the hallway, she checked the comm room and didn't find him there. After a short chat with Cortana she found out that he was in the library. So, that's where she went.

The doors opened and Rachel stepped inside. The walls were adorned with stacks and stacks of books. There were stairs that led up to another level where even more books were held. There were couches and chairs, tables with computers. Rachel used to love spending time here before.

Spotting Chief seated on one of the leather couches, he had a book in hand and looked up when she walked in, setting the book aside slowly.

"I forgot this place even existed." Rachel said slowly as she took in the sight of the cozy library once more before walking over to him. " I brought you a cappuccino." she said as she placed it on the table in front of him.

" Thank you." Chief answered in no specific tone

"I didn't know you like to read." she said as she sat down on the couch across from him, taking a sip from her cup.

" I don't mind some light reading now and then. Eases my mind." he said .

Eying the book in his hand she raised an eyebrow. " You call the Bible a light read?" she said with a smile. " Are you a Christian?" she asked curious.

" No, I've never had time for religion. I read for the inspirational quotes, the stories that hold deeper meanings and lessons. There's a lot of powerful things in here. " he stated. " A lot of journeys filled with dangerous trials and decisions, it's a lot like what I've gone through." he said.

" But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear ; do not be frightened. Take Courage. " Chief spoke, reciting one of the lines.

" Peter 3:14." she answered. " That one describes you well." she said simply taking another sip from her cup. " Or, reminds me of you I should say. I already know you're strong and courageous and will stand up for humanity no matter what. But that verse it represents what you have taught and shown me these past two weeks. You've taught me to be unafraid, to embrace what I am and to be strong." she said slowly.

"There is no fear in love." Chief said.

"But perfect love casteth out fear … John 4:18 " Rachel finished. " That's, one of my favourite verses." she said slowly as she looked at him.

"I know." he stated. " It was underlined with a little heart doodled beside it, I figured it was you." he said showing her the page.

Rachel let out a small laugh as she saw the page. " Wow." she said with a smile.

"That one reminds me of you." Chief said putting the book down on the table and picking up his cup. Standing slowly he looked down at her. " Thanks for the cappuccino." he said as he exited the library.

Rachel sat there and stared at the book.

_Just what did he mean it reminded him of me..._

_...  
_

Crouched down behind a rock Rachel reloaded her assault rifle. Peeking around the rock she looked or any sign of movement but didn't see anything. Checking her radar, it indicated nothing around her. Suddenly, a very small noise of a gun behind reloaded and Rachel jumped out of cover firing her weapon in the direction that she heard the noise.

Bullets began to fire back at her, crashing into her shield slowly taking them down. Rolling to the side, the stream of bullets seemed to follow her but she was fast. Jumping over a rock she armed grenade and tossed it ducking down behind another boulder. Peering around the corner she moved suddenly as she saw Chief standing right in front of her. He picked her up and threw her from the boulder.

Rolling along the ground she sprung to her feet and began firing at him once more as the bullets collided with his armor until there was an unsatisfying sound of clicking, her gun was out of ammo. Tossing it to the side she slowly stepped to the side as Chief approached her. His weapon was seemingly out of ammo as well as he stood barehanded.

They began to walk in a circle in front of each other. They both simultaneously reached for two sticks on their belts. Activating the energy swords they stopped walking and faced each other. Rachel was first to strike, her sword slamming into that of Chief's. It gave out a crackling sound as they continued to clash until Chief kicked her in the chest sending her to the ground. Rachel rolled and at the same time activated her camouflage technique becoming completely invisible.

She watched as Chief turned slowly searching for any indication of movement. Rachel had climbed on top of a boulder and waited until his back was facing her. Then, jumping from the boulder she brought the sword over her head and aimed it downwards on him, her camo worn off. He turned quickly as their sword met again and continued clashing against each other. Until finally , Rachel got the upper hand and hooked her sword in between hers twisting it just right so it was thrown from his hands, and she held the end of her sword at his neck.

However, looking down she felt something at her waist as Chief held a fully loaded pistol there. Rachel smirked on the inside of her helmet as she shook her head slowly.

"You're ready." Chief said finally, concluding the end of the training as the surroundings disappeared and they were left standing in the middle of the training room.

...

**AUTHOR'S NOTES - Just a quick note. The bible references were nothing but that. This wasn't some insertion of Master Chief being Christian or favouring that religion or anything like that. It was solely used for the purpose of the quotes and because the love one is taken from ' JOHN ' haha get it ? Okay.. well, please no arguments or comments about that because I don't want this turning into some religion debate. thank you ! AND REVIEW ! 3**


	11. You've Got Mail

**AUTHOR'S NOTES : Sorry that it took me so long ! I've been so busy with Christmas Shopping and work, and being with my baby niece ! But here you go, hopefully this chapter will suffice ! And I'll have the new one up soon ! Thanks everyone !**

**...  
**

**Master Chief.**

**...  
**

Occasional beeping sounds echoed through he comm room. Cortana's holographic figure wasn't visible at the moment as she worked busily sorting through the vast libraries of date and stored information. For a while she had been tracking the covenant movements and although they tried to bypass the door into the facility, they had no luck and soon lost interest. Since then, the covenant had been examining and creating bases at old ruins. There had been several run ins with marines, which meant that they weren't left alone and someone from the frigate in space orbiting the planet, was relaying orders and messages, but wern't returning their own until...

" Chief," Coratna said, her blue holographic body appearing. " I think I've got something. An encrypted message from the UNSC Hurricane. " she said informing him.

Turning from his position, he acknowledged Cortana's words with a nod of his head. " Good. How long until it's opened?" he asked standing straighter.

"I'm going through the encryption now. I'll be done in five minutes." she said." Shall we inform the lieutenant?" she asked looking over at her.

His eyes fell upon Rachel. She was seated at one of the terminals. Bent over, her arms crossed over one another and her head resting on top. She had fallen asleep. Granted they had spent quite a few days, and nights, in the comm room trying to contact the human frigate. Not to mention the training on top of it all. John didn't blame her for being exhausted. He was feeling some of it as well, but he spent the duration of his time in his armor so it wasn't that bad.

"No. Let her rest. We can tell her in the morning." he stated simply as he looked over at Cortana who nodded in return.

It was just then that T.I.M entered through one of the holes. Hovering around Rachel, it examined her sleeping body. " Shall I awake and escort her to her room?" it asked, the optic widening then condensing.

Chief stepped in between T.I.M and Rachel." No. I'll take her to her room." he said in a stern tone, causing the orb to back up.

" If you insist." it replied in its synthetic voice.

Turning, Chief slowly bent over and pulled Rachel back proceeding to gently lift her from her seat. Holding her bridal style, she stirred slowly, but didn't wake. Her long brown hair spilled over his arm as he held her. Turning slowly he exited the comm room and proceeded down the hall with her in his arms. He cast a glance down at her noticing how peaceful she looked. Taking the time to marvel at her soft looking porcelain skin, her long auburn hair, way past regulation length and her full lips. Chief had always known and saw her for the attractive woman she was. But, it was only at a time like this that he had the chance to marvel at her beauty and appreciate it.

The past few weeks that he had been in the facility with her he had gotten to know her, had become close to her. When he found out she was a Spartan he would be lying if he said he wasn't happy about it. It made him feel less alone. The training they went through and the conversations they had brought them closer each time. He not only appreciated her beauty but also her strength and prowess in fighting. He knew she was pure and a true representation of what a Spartan was.

Finally reaching her room, the door opened and Chief entered. Approaching her bed he set her down gently, pulling the blankets up to keep her warm. Casting one more glance at her, he turned to exit the room but stopped when he was pulled back by a hand on his wrist. Turning his head he saw that Rachel was awake and had a firm grip on his wrist, stopping him from going anywhere. Truthfully, if he wanted to break free he could with no problem but, he didn't want to.

"Chief?" she said sleepily. Looking around lazily he could tell she noticed this wasn't where she fell asleep. He watched as she used her other arm to push off the blankets. He then turned his hand around now holding her wrist, stopping her.

"You need to rest." he said to her and she blinked up at him. " The work can be finished tomorrow. I promise you'll wake up to good news." he said in a reassuring tone.

She slowly raised an eyebrow and he could tell that she wanted to question it. Instead, he was slightly surprised when she nodded and laid back down pulling the blankets over herself. " Goodnight Chief." she said with a smile.

Nodding slowly he exited the room and made his way back to the comm room knowing that Cortana had ample time to get that message opened. As he entered the room eh walked over to Cortana as she looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and half smirk .

"Do you think that's smart?" she asked him.

"What?" he said, clearly dumbfounded by her question.

"You have gotten really close to the lieutenant. "Cortana said slowly crossing her arms.

"She's a fellow Spartan. Her and I are probably the only ones left. We were always taught to protect our brothers and sisters." he answered logically.

"That's not what I meant John, and you know it." Cortana said, the smirk growing.

He cast her a sideways glance and then to the screen. " Open the message." he instructed.

Defeated Cortana simply nodded her head and turned to the screen as the message appeared.

_CAPTAINS LOG : 143_

_0900 HOURS , AUGUST 23 2..ERROR._

_UNSC FRIGATE HURRICANE_

_It's been a couple of weeks since we heard from the ground team sent with Master Chief. the ambush at the ruins must have been a success. We've also lost track on a Lieutenant Rachel Fleming who I've only been informed recently was a Spartan. How she managed to escape the facility is unknown to me, though she may have been the reason it went dark. I need time to look into it._

_CAPTAINS LOG : 145..._

_14:00 HOURS...ERROR_

_UNSC FRIGATE HURRICANE..._

_It's only occured to me how that Spartan 102, or Rachel, may know of the facilities work. If word gets out that I was involved, it would be bad. Even worse than being stranded in this damn orbit. She needs to be found and killed. Word of that place can definitely not get out. The covenant wants us out of here and they're closing in fast. Damn these engines! Damn my bad luck ! .._

_...End log.._

Chief stood in silence. Everything about those two entries angered him. He was tricked into looking for data that was never there so he could be killed. The captain knew all about the vile experiments conducted in the facility, and he ordered for Rachel to be killed. Not if he had any say in it.

"Chief, I've also managed to hack into the covenants comm channels tracing it back to their bases. They have enough explosives required to destroy this place." She informed him.

He nodded absent minded to her words, still angered and focused on the message he had just read. The part that bothered him the most was that the captain wanted Rachel dead. It wouldn't happen and Chief would make sure of it. " Get the co-ordinates ready. We leave in the morning." he instructed as he turned to leave.

Cortana simply nodded at Chief's command and then disappeared into the system.

Walking through the corridor Chief was upset at the thought of Rachel dying. He couldn't quite figure out just why it mattered so much to had lost many soldiers, and spartans before. It was part of the job. The only time he ever felt this way was when Kelly was lost. But he card for Kelly, deeply, and different then he had any other. And now, now he cared for Rachel, like he had Kelly, but different at the same time.

He never got a chance to tell Kelly, to show her He waited too long and then lost his chance entirely. He lost her. He wasn't about to let that happen again. His speed quickened and his heart raced. It was a feeling that he wasn't used to having. Stopping in front of her door he paused. Contemplating whether he should say anything at all. Besides, she was sleeping. Lifting his hand he rested it on the wall beside her door and let out a sigh in his helmet. It had taken him a while but now he fully realized how he felt about her. He needed to tell her, he wanted to but, he didn't know if tonight was the right time. Turning to leave he decided he wasn't quite ready yet and headed to his room for the night.

...

"Why not?" Rachel's voice rang out clearly displeased.

"It's not our best option right now." Chief answered.

"Not our best option? That asshole knew all along about everything and he purposely sent you to die! I'm pretty sure the best option is to get to that ship and make him hurt!" she said angered.

"No." Came his answer again, cocking his gun as they headed towards the exit of the facility. They were both outfitted in their armor and ready for the mission. Well, almost ready.

Clearly frustrated, Chief stopped when she rushed ahead of him and turned, blocking his path. " Give me one good reason why? Other than it's not our best option bullshit." she said.

"There's more important things here at stake. The flood is our biggest concern. We can't waste time running off to get revenge when the threat of a galaxy resides just several floors below us. Once we take care of them then we'll take care of him. But we do it my way, because I won't risk losing you to him!" he said raising his voice a bit at the end. Silence ensued over them. " We've got a mission to do." he said as he brushed past her and exited the facility.


	12. Breathe Into Me

Author's notes - Terribly sorry for the long wait ! I have been very busy with the holidays, family, babysitting my baby niece and work ! -anndadouchebagboyfriend - hopefully this chapter will make up for it !

**Rachel**

…...

Breathing slowly, Rachel laid flat on her stomach, her sniper rifle set out before her and her arm resting around her, her finger inches away from the trigger. Through the scope she watched as Master Chief made his way through the Covenant compound on the lower part of the cliff. So far he had been undetected, deciding that the element of surprise was their best bet for nor. They were outnumbered and out gunned, though they were also two highly trained Spartan's and could survive against impossible odds. Still, the importance of this mission was high and Chief wanted to utilize every advantage they had while they could.

Her job was to provide him cover from her elevated perch ,using her sniper to take down those who got to close to him. Meanwhile, he was to break into their armory and get all the plasma mines he could.

As Chief ducked in and out of sight, Rachel scoped out the area. Already taking note of the several patrols that were in the area, none had come near Chief yet. Of course, he would be able to see them on his radar and would avoid them accordingly, but they were to far to be detected on her radar so she literally needed to keep an eye on them in case anything happened.

" I'm at the armory. Watch the door." Cheif's voice came over the comm.

Rachel spoke no response, instead her scope was focused on the doors of the armory that Chief disappeared into, and the roaming patrols near it. Several minutes passed and there was no significant movement. Knowing full well that any resistance met inside the armory would be taken care of by him, it was her job to make sure that no more resistance was added.

Out of no where, there was an explosion to the West side of the compound. Focusing in on the area that exploded she watched as the covenant began to move towards it, searching for a cause. Rachel too, scoped the area out to find out what had happened, more so what had caused the explosion and if possible, why.

So far all that flooded her scope was the covenant with the scatter of a few Brute's here and there. It wasn't until something caught her attention - the familiar green and black pattern of camouflage that belonged to the marines uniform. " What the hell." she said as she pulled away from the scope and used both of her eyes to take in the scene before her. A group of marines began to pour in through the blasted hole in the wall.

"What was that ? What happened?" Chief's voice finally chimed in over the comm .

" It looks like an attack on the covenant from the UNSC. " Rachel responded, filling him in on what she made of the situation.

"Copy that. We'll use this distraction to our advantage. I'll be a couple of more minutes. " he said.

"Got it. I'll cover the door, but they'll most likely run for the armory to fend off the marines. " she warned him.

"It'll be fine." he answered.

Sighing to herself, she returned to peering through her scope. Just as she thought, there were several Elite's that began running for the armory to resupply no doubt. Squeezing the trigger she picked them off as they moved into her sights. They never saw it coming, and all they all dropped to the ground. Reloading her rifle she looked through the scope again and watched as three Brute's approached the armory this time, examining the dead Elite's curious of what happened. She wasn't about to give them the time to figure it out and fired off another three shots. Pumping two into one of the Elite's that appeared to be a Chieftain and harder to take out than the others.

Within minutes Chief appeared from the armory doors, firing his assault rifle as two Elite's appeared from a corner. " Move to the rendezvous point. We're done here." he said to her as he disappeared from sight and began moving to the point marked on their radar.

Rachel didn't answer and sprang to her feet strapping her sniper rifle to her back and equipping her assault rifle. Turning on her heel she began towards the marked place on her map. Moving around the perimeter of the covenant base she was only met with minimal resistance, nothing that she couldn't handle easily. Most of the covenant focus was on the west wall anyway, while she headed towards the east.

Finally reaching the point where she and Chief were to meet, she saw that he was right on time. A grenade exploded and covenant bodies were strewn in every which way. Bringing her rifle up, Rachel provided Chief with cover fire as he ran towards her. When he finally reached her, he reloaded his rifle and motioned for her to head out.

"Wait." Rachel called, causing him to stop in his tracks. " What about the marines? Shouldn't we help them?" she asked him, weary of just running away and leaving them to deal with their alien foe.

"No, we need to move if we're going to get out of here unnoticed." Chief said.

"You can't be serious? We can't just leave them to die? " Rachel protested.

"They didn't come to aid us. Them showing up was just a fluke, something that we need to take advantage of so we can get away." Chief stated.

"We're supposed to be the protector's of humanity, they're part of humanity ! We have to help them!" Rachel said, angered by his decision of abandonment.

He approached her and stood looking down at her. " They tried to kill you, remember? Even after we helped them, then what? Then that would be the perfect chance for them to grab us. " he stated. Although, it wouldn't exactly be easy for the marines to just ' grab ' them, but it was the point he was trying to make.

Rachel was silent, she had no choice but to agree with what he was saying. " Okay. Let's go." she said finally. Chief stood there for a moment longer before turning and heading off in the direction of their base with Rachel close behind him.

…...

Sitting in the library, Rachel was out of her SPARTAN III armor. Sitting in one of the chairs, she didn't have a book she just decided to go to the library to be alone and clear her mind. Leaning her head back on the chair she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Thinking about the entire situation it was almost too much to take in. Though for a Spartan, it wasn't that much. Rachel had seen a lot in her service in the UNSC and even more as a SPARTAN III. The fact that she lost her entire team to some horrific experiments conducted right under her nose, well...feet rather, was just the tip of the iceberg to everything that had gone wrong. It was still hard to believe though, despite everything she's seen, it shouldn't be. In fact, it should be expected if anything else. That's what war was. Whether it be the humans or the aliens, either side could sink low, low enough to take apart their own kind in an effort to destroy the other.

A hatch somewhere on the wall in the room opened and a floating orb appeared through it. Approaching her it hovered in front of her, it's ' eye ' zooming in and out examining her. "Pardon me Lieutenant, but shouldn't you be in the communications room working on a plan of action with the Master Chief and that.. A.I. " the orb said in it's slightly human but more so synthetic voice.

Rachel didn't bother opening her eyes she just let out a sigh. " What's the point. He'll come up with whatever plan he wants and I'll just have to follow it." she said.

The orb hovered for a moment longer. " This self-pity routine isn't very becoming of you madame. " it said.

Rachel opened her eyes and tossed a pillow at the floating orb, but it moved out of the way. " My, my. So touchy. " it said as it then disappeared through the hole in the wall, the hatch closing behind it.

Leaning forwards she rested her arms on her knee's and ran a hand through her long brown hair. Rising to her feet she decided that she would go to the COMM room and find out what they were doing.

The hydraulic door slid open and she was greeted with the sight of Master Chief standing in front of the large screen while Cortana was in her ' human form ' on the console and the floating orb also known as T.I.M was hovering nearby. Approaching them she stood a bit off from Chief. He glanced at her then back at the screen as Cortana continued explaining the plan to them and the proper use of the explosives that they had stolen from the covenant base.

Crossing her arms Rachel actually didn't have much to disagree with on the plan. Maybe she was overreacting, it was sad that it took a computer to make her realize it.

…

Her chest rose and fell quickly as she stood in the training room, a training dummy in front of her that was basically broken. Still in her marine clothing she decided to train a bit without her armor on. Raising her right hand, she wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand and reached out for her bottle of water resting on the nearest ledge.

Sensing someones eyes on her , she turned to see Chief standing at the far end of the room. " End training session." she said out loud as the computer responded, and the dummy retracted into the wall and the training room returned to it's white walled and fluorescent light default.

Swallowing almost half of her of her water, she wiped her mouth and made her way over to Chief. " Hey. " she said to him, looking into his reflective visor basically only seeing the image of herself.

"Hi." Chief answered. " That was pretty good." he said, referring to her training.

"Pretty good?" Rachel raised an eyebrow. " I'd like to see you take off all that armor and try doing that. " she said crossing her arms with a small smirk.

Chief didn't answer, he just shifted his stance at first. " Hm. Maybe another time." he stated, in no tone specifically. " I didn't think you would join the briefing." he stated finally.

Rachel shrugged. " Yeah well, it took a verbal ass kicking from a robot to realize how dumb it was for me not to be there." she explained.

" I see. " Chief answered, almost amused that T.I.M set her straight.

A moment of silence passed over them.

" About earlier, I just want to clarify that I didn't like leaving those marines behind, possibly leaving them to die. If we didn't leave when we did, we could have been followed and our entire mission left forfeit. " he explained.

Rachel nodded her head and looked away. Although it didn't sit well with her to leave those marines behind, she knew it wasn't a decision that Chief made lightly. He had fought countless numbers of alien's, been to hell and back to defend Earth and all her inhabitants, including every single marine. So she knew it wasn't because he was heartless or didn't care, but because it was what had to happen if they were going to get away.

"I understand." she said genuinely. " Destroying this base and this new mutated flood is of utmost importance. It will save the lives of millions..even if that means some need to be sacrificed. I know." she said

" I didn't want to leave them behind. I didn't want them to die but sometimes.. sacrifice is necessary." he said to her.

Smiling slightly she nodded. " I know." she said slowly remembering back to her teammates that died for her or stayed behind so that she could live, so that she could serve some greater purpose. " I just hope that one day if I need to do something like that, I can. Those things that are precious are saved only by sacrifice. " she said slowly, almost a realization.

She could tell that Chief shifted uncomfortably and looked up at him to which he spoke. " Sacrifice is important, and sometimes crucial to victory. But.. I hope that you never have to be put in that position." he said to her in a tone which she couldn't quite describe.

" Why not? Sacrifice is victory." she said solemnly.

"Something isn't necessarily true because someone dies for it." he said in that same unreadable tone.

" It is if that person puts their whole heart and belief into what they're sacrificing or..who they're sacrificing for. " she said slowly.

Silence. They both stood there without the other speaking, taking in what they had just said.

" Sacrificing ones self or others isn't always the answer, even if it may seem the easiest." Chief finally said.

Rachel arched an eyebrow. " You're confusing me. First you tell me that sacrifice is necessary, almost what defines war and that it needs to be done. Then once I agree you start telling me that it's not always the answer, that it's not something that I should be faced with. Well, I'm a SPARTAN and I'm sure as hell in this war too. Why is it okay for everyone else to consider sacrifice, for it to be noble and good for them but it's something you're saying I shouldn't consider. What it's only okay if you decide who gets sacrificed and who doesn't?" she asked, almost angry.

Walking forwards she moved past him and toward the door but was pulled back. Turning she saw Chief's arm outstretched holding her hand. Looking from their hands to him she cocked her head slightly.

" I don't want you to ever consider sacrificing yourself." he said plainly, right to the point finally.

" I'm a big girl. I can decide on my own whether or not my life is worth sacrificing. " she said as she pulled away from him and left the training room, with him in it.

…

After making it back to her room she decided to take a nice long hot shower. After training and having that argument with Chief, it felt nice.

Sitting on her bed Rachel had her knees pulled up to her chest and her head resting on top of them. Staring at nothing in particular she thought back to the conversation her and Chief had. In fact , she thought back to the many conversations that she had with him. The things he said to her and how she reacted. Reflecting on it all she only now realized what Chief had really said to her all those times. Even though she got angry … she realized that everything he said or did for her was to show that he cared. It was in many different ways, and ways she wasn't used to someone showing her, but it was there. She was too blind to see it.

" I'm so stupid." she said sitting up, realizing it all.

Standing up she went to her mirror and checked her reflection. Fixing her long brown hair she brushed it out and adjusted her white, regulation tank top. Exiting her quarters she headed down the hall, slowing down. Coming to a stop in front of his room she stared at the door thinking about everything. There was so much going through her mind at that moment, so much that she couldn't quite sort out but there was something there..something pushing her.

Without really thinking about it she stepped closer to the door, the sensor going off and sliding the door open. She saw him standing on the opposite side of the room cleaning his weapons. When he looked up at her she took a step into the room.

"Rachel? Is something wrong?" he asked. She figured it was probably because of the look on her face at the moment.

She didn't answer him. As he rose to his feet she continued to walk towards him, the door sliding shut behind her. Now standing only inches away from him she looked up into his reflective visor, and as always, only saw her reflection. Slowly, she outstretched her hands to his helmet to which he responded by grabbing her wrists, stopping her. She didn't look away or move. After a moment he lowered his hands and she proceeded with detaching his helmet.

The hiss of the hydraulic pressuring that kept his helmet on echoed in the room as she slowly removed his helmet. Without taking her eyes off of him, she placed his helmet on the table next to them.

Moving back and forth, her golden brown eyes took in his appearance. His defined jawline, his well structured face, his dark brown eyes, and the scar that went over his right eye. He was a very handsome man, but the years of war and training had taken a toll on him and was evident in his face. It only made him that much more attractive to her. That much more irresistible.

Slowly she traced her finger over the scar on his eyes. Softly, gently. Moving her hands down to his plated chest she slowly began to push, in which he responded to moving backwards entering the machine that would remove his armor. Pressing the button, the different mechanical arms emerged from the machine and began removing his armor leaving him in only his white wife beater and green army pants.

As he stepped out of the machine, their eyes connected.

Rachel then removed her tank top, leaving her only in her bra and pants. Chief glanced at her body then reconnected with her eyes.

"Rachel -" he started but she quickly lifted a finger to his lips stopping him.

Leaning in she moved her finger and her lips were soon upon his as she began kissing him, to which he responded, hesitantly at first, by wrapping his arms around her lower back pulling her closer. After deepening the kiss, Chief picked her up pushing her against one of the walls as he proceeded to kiss her, more passionately now.

Reaching down she lifted his shirt off of him and threw it aside. Sliding her hands over his muscular and defined chest she continued to kiss him. It wasn't too long until they were both on the bed. Chief on top, and Rachel beneath him.

Holding her in his embrace that night they not only showed their love for each other, but just how human they really were.


	13. Confessios of the Heart

Master Chief.

Blinking slowly, John lay silently on the bed with Rachel beside him still asleep. Looking at her, he lifted his hand and slowly tucked some of her brown hair behind her ear and traced along her soft jaw line with the back of his two fingers. Taking in her porcelain-like beauty, he was still in awe of just how much natural beauty she held. Her eyes soon fluttered open, and her gaze met with his. John watched as she took in his sight and a smile soon appeared on her lips.

" Morning." she said softly as she shifted.

"Morning." he answered, propping himself up on his arm and she soon did the same. " How did you sleep?" he asked her as he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear that had fallen.

" Best sleep I've had in a very long time." she answered as she stopped his hand and brought it to her lips, kissing the top of it slowly. " You?" she asked him.

" Peaceful." he answered honestly. It was true. John slept very light, alert to all the noises and movement of the night. The only other time he had sleeps like that was when he was in cryo. But with her sleeping by his side after they confessed, and more than showed their love for each other, he went to sleep happy. He felt well rested and looked forward to waking up so that he may see her again. He watched as she moved in closer, to which he responded by wrapping his arms around her and pulling her towards his chest. She slowly began to kiss him to which he kissed back. They lay in each others arms kissing for a while longer until they finally stopped, to catch some air no doubt.

Laying on his chest, John had his arm around her as he slowly ran his fingers through her hair. " I wish this moment would last forever. " he heard her whisper.

Slowing the movement of his fingers through her hair, he looked down at her and continued to run his hands through her locks lovingly. A moment or two of silence passed until he answered. " Me too. " softly. He felt her hug him tighter and he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. " I'm glad I found you." he commented.

He allowed her room to move as she pushed herself up and looked at him. " Hey, it was me that found you. Remember?" she said with a smile, the smile that he loved so much. Letting out a sigh he rolled his eyes playfully.

" Yeah, because I let you find me." he said with a small laugh as she hit him on the chest lightly.

" Yeah right. " she commented with a laugh as well.

Looking at her, he raised his hand and pushed her hair, cupping his hand around her face. " Being with you almost makes it seem like there's no war. Like we're not spartans, we're just two normal people. " he said stroking the side of her face gently. It wasn't something that just anyone would hear him say. The tough and rugged Master Chief, saviour of humanity and destroyer of the covenant. The man that would kill hundreds of beings without blinking an eye. For someone like so cold and aggressive as him, it may have been surprising to find out that he really had a heart and could be so compassionate and loving. He tried to stick to who he was and what he knew … and he lost the one person who meant a lot to him before he could really tell her how he felt.

Walking through the foreign jungle, two Spartan's moved silently through the bushes and tree's as they tracked their covenant foe. " Once we get over this hill we'll rendezvous with BRAVO team and push on to the Covenant base." Chief's voice sounded through the intercom between him and Kelly.

She nodded as she followed behind him, her eyes still taking in the surroundings. " Wow, it's a shame that such a beautiful planet has to see the travesties of war and death." Kelly spoke as she stopped and wrapped her hand around a blooming flower gently, appreciating the beauty of it.

Chief glanced over his shoulder, noting that she had stopped. " What are you doing?" he asked her.

" Just admiring the beauty of this flower, and everything around us." she said softly as she really took in the image of the exotic plants.

" We don't have time, let's move. " Chief said as he tightened the grip on his rifle.

" We will, just hold on a minute." she said to him as she watched a few of the small indigenous creatures run across a branch. It was what she would consider the equivalent of a squirrel back on Earth.

Chief reached out his arm and grabbed Kelly's pulling her away from the tree and the flowers she was admiring.

Forcing herself free she took a step back and faced him. " What the hell are you doing?" she asked him angrily.

" We don't have time for this. We need to press on and meet up with BRAVO team." he explained.

" Don't have time? Oh okay, then tell me John, when will we have time?" she asked him.

" After we destroy the base and kill all the covenant? Once the planet gets destroyed and we're finished blowing up everything that gets in our way? Or how about when we're back at HQ preparing for the next mission? Is that the time that I'll have to admire nature's beauty? To admire what's innocent and appreciate for just a moment. " she argued.

" We're in the middle of a war Kelly. We don't have time to stop and smell the roses. It's killed or be killed, we can't afford any distractions." he said sternly.

"We can't? Or you can't?" she asked him.

" I can't afford distractions. " he answered quickly.

" I see. " she started slowly. " Is that what I am to you John, a distraction?" she asked him in no tone specifically. He didn't answer. " What are you fighting for John?" she asked him.

" I'm fighting for Earth, for humanity and our survival." he said.

" But what are you really fighting for. " she said again. " Do you even know what any of that is? What humanity is?" she questioned. " You act like a robot John, or a dog. You do what you're told no questions asked, like a good soldier boy. You throw your life on the line so easily to protect Earth and humanity. But you don't have a clue what Humanity really is. What life really is. " she started as she picked a flower from a bush. " The laughter from young children as they play with each other, or grow up with their parents. The cry of a newborn baby, the love shared between two people that is so precious and unexplainable. The celebration of new life and creation. The way a flower's petals part when it blooms, or how the sun creeps through the clouds ever so gently that it ignites the sky in beautiful colors that people marvel at. The freedom to live and love and enjoy life and all it has to offer. To feel love, pain, hate , sadness...happiness. These are all things that we're-, I'm fighting for. It's what humanity has to offer, what our race has to be proud of. " she said as she looked down at the flower. " We're constantly surrounded by death John. Never knew our parents, we grew up like these.. made into killing machines, made to protect humanity. But how can you protect something if you don't allow yourself to understand what it is. All you do is block everything out. Block out the happiness and love." she said slowly. " One day John, you'll understand what I mean . One day, you won't throw away your life so easily when you find what's worth living for." she said dropping the flower.

" John, are you okay ?" Rachel's voice chimed in, pulling him from his thoughts.

Looking at her he smiled softly. " I'm fine. " he answered rubbing his thumb along her cheek. " Rachel I.. " he started as he sat up, holding her in front of him. " I love you ." he said finally.

Rachel's eyes widened slightly and then a smile spread wide across her face. " I love you too." she responded softly as he then pulled her in for a deep and meaningful kiss as they once again displayed just how much they loved each other.


	14. Goodbye, My Love

Chapter 14

Rachel

...

The dim glow from the monitor's was the only light provided in the control room. Cortona had been busily working within the system. Searching through and resetting various pass codes and identification numbers. She was doing everything she could to make sure that when the time came to carry out their plan, there wouldn't be any mistakes. It was a critical mission, one they needed to complete without failure. If any part of the mutated flood got lose, it would be a complete disaster and make the war with the covenant look like a wedding between Ken and Barbie.

Cortana's holographic image appeared on the console as T.I.M floated in the air. " What's the flood count?" she asked the orb.

" The specimen has tripled in population since the last time it was recorded. " he informed her.

" Damn. They're multiplying faster than I thought. " she said.

**ALERT. BREACH IN VENTILATION SYSTEM A.**

A synthetic voice announced as a red light began to flash, indicating the urgency.

" It appears with the over reproduction of the parasite they have begun to expand into the other areas of the base. " T.I.M. added.

Cortana flickered. " I've sealed all ventilation shafts and the ones you travel through. We can't risk anything. " she said looking over the numbers she let out a sigh. " Alert chief. It's time to set the charges. " Cortana said.

The floating orbs ocular device expanded and retracted, then it floated out of the room.

-

Tracing John's battle scars with her slender gingers, Rachel felt both the roughness and the smoothness of the healed over skin. A testament to all the effort and years he put into fighting and training. Even more so all of pain he endured that became the result of the scars.

" I don't remember not having them. " he said as he could feel her fingers on his skin.

Looking up at him her golden eyes connected with his for a moment before returning to his body.  
" You're not the only one with them." she said slowly as she moved his hand from the small of her back to the middle of her back where she had a large scar that ran down her back.

" A scar like that has to have a story. " he said slowly caressing her back.

Letting out a small sigh she nodded. " Indeed it does." she said as she began to remember back to when it had happened. " I was on a cover stealth mission. Just me and two other Spartans. We had simple instructions. Get in, get the key code and get out. But, as much as we'd always want it to be, our missions are never just that easy. Especially not in this war. " she started. " We got in with no problems, however we didn't count on three camouflaged zealots to be protecting the artifact that we were supposed to retrieve. Needless to say, we were caught off guard and after taking down one of the Zealots, I was careless in watching my back and had a sword almost go right through me. If it wasn't for one of my teammates, I would have died." she said, as she finished explaining how she got the scar.

" Those bastards are fast." Chief commented. " I've had my share of run ins with them, and those energy swords." he added.

" It must be good to not have to be at war with the Elite's anymore." she commented.

" Their aid was appreciated, and welcomed. Especially against the flood. But.. it was hard to trust them in the beginning. It took a lot of time for me to actually trust any of them with my life.. though, there was really only one I trusted." he said thinking back to the time before he arrived on this planet. " His name was The Arbiter. " Chief said. " Cast out of his kind, and forced to be a martyr, he defected from his prophets and began to follow his own path soon convincing the other Elite's to do so. If it wasn't for the hate and rivalry between the Elite's and the Brute's, I'm not so sure the betrayal would have happened at all." he finished.

" We're not all that different you know." She said, repositioning herself so that she could face him better, her hand tracing his strong jaw line.

"How's that?" He asked.

" Well... we're at war because we're both two different kinds of species just trying to protect our own and survive." she said.

" They're trying to activate the rings which would undoubtedly destroy the universe. Our world and theirs." he added.

" Yes well, they do have those that wish for things like that. The extremists that cause only destruction and death. But...are we so different to judge them? We have made plenty of mistakes and have had many people who do things for only power and money. " she explained. " Take a look at the scientists and those in charge of what was happening here. They were experimenting on their own people...and to what end? How can we judge the other race so quick without taking a look at how corrupt our own is." she said, more quietly at the end as the memories of what happened flooded her mind.

Chief responded by rubbing her back gently and then placing his hand under her chin bringing her face to his and kissing her passionately. " Everything that happened will be corrected. We'll destroy this base and all of the sick experiments that went on. Then we'll deal with the commander and I'll take you somewhere far from all this death." he said to her. " I promise." he said softly.

Her eyes softened as she looked deeply into his. It meant a lot to her that he would help to fix everything that had happened. It meant even more that he would stop fighting and leave with her to some place where there was no fighting and there wasn't any war. But.. she wasn't sure that it would work.

" Are you sure that we can just stop fighting. We're Spartans... we were born to fight. Trained and bred to do nothing but kill." she said slowly.

Chief was silent. It was true. They were killing machines and they didn't know anything else. Though, even during the wars and the hardest times, it would seem that there was a light. There were times for John to know what it felt like to be loved and to love somebody else. To care about something beyond war. Beyond fighting and killing, to have another reason and purpose to live.

" We may have started out that way..but we can decide how to live out the rest of our future." he said to her, rubbing the side of her face gingerly.

" I don't know how long we'll be able to survive without killing something." she said with a small laugh.

John smiled in return as he leaned in for anther kiss. " Meeting you has finally made me realize that there's more to live for than just killing." he said sincerely. To hear something like that from him was...rare. Though it was Kelly who initially made him feel differently about things,but he was way to stubborn back then to really pay attention and actually take action on his feelings. He was too much of a solider to realize there was more to life. But after her death.. he took it hard and held regrets, regrets that he vowed to repay in the deaths of his enemies.

But then he met Rachel, and once again his heart softened. Except this time, instead of pushing her away and focusing on nothing but killing the enemy. He opened his heart and accepted hers. Experiencing for the first time what it was like to feel love, to love and to be loved.

Now he knew there was more than just survival to fight for.

The door made a beeping sound as it slowly slid open and the floating orb entered. John quickly pulled the covers up covering both him and Rachel as he looked at the orb, wondering what it was disturbing them for.

" Apologies for interrupting the copulation of the Lieutenant and the Master Chief but, Cortana requests your presence. The parasite has tripled in population and she says its time to carry out the mission." he informed them.

Rachel and John looked at each other before nodding to the orb as its eye widened and retracted and it floated out of the room leaving them alone once more.

" Well...I guess it's time." Rachel said slowly. Her heart almost seemed to beat fast as she felt a bit of nervousness. It was somewhat of a foreign feeling to her as she never got nervous before a battle. But, it wasn't really the fighting part that got her nervous. It was what they were about to do, and the risk they were about to take.

Leaning in, John kissed her again, holding her close once more before pulling away. " We should suit up." he said reluctantly. He would've liked nothing more than to spend the rest of the day in bed with her but, duty calls.

Nodding, she exited the bed and pulled her clothes on before exiting his room and heading to her own where she would enter the machine that would attach her armor as Chief would do the same.

-

It wasn't too long after that both Spartans met in the control room where Cortana's holographic form was present and T.I.M floated near them. Cortana had just finished explaining the situation to them as the light on the wall continued to flash red and a bunch of different graphs and the map of the facility was present on the huge screens in front of them. Certain area's highlighted in red, displaying where the parasite had infected and how they were traveling fast through the facilities systems, breaking through some of the sealed vents.

" How much longer until they reach the main level? " Chief asked.

" According to the speed that they're moving and how fast they're breaking through the defenses I'd say... twenty minutes before the breach the main floor." she informed him.

Chief and Rachel looked at each other. Both of their reflections in one another's visors.

" We have no choice then. Set the charges." he said as Cortana nodded.

" I'll set them to detonate in fifteen minutes. That should give us enough time to get to the transport bay and have the pods ready to launch. I'll set the co-ordinates to the UNSC Hurricane. We should be far in orbit before the explosions set off, at a safe distance. " she explained to them.

Both Rachel and Chief nodded. " What do you need us to do ?" Rachel asked.

" We can amplify the explosion by overloading the cores. There's four and the co-ordinates have been placed on your maps. Once you get to the terminals at each core, I'll have the codes sent to you that will provide a manual override and will set them into a meltdown. " she said to them as the locations appeared on their HUDS. " You may run into some trouble with the parasites as they have spread throughout most of the base." Cortana warned them.

" We'll be fine. " Chief reassured the A.I as he cocked his gun and held it to the side. " Alright, I'll take the two cores on the third floor, you get the ones on the second floor." he said to Rachel.

She hesitantly nodded, knowing that he was giving himself the more dangerous floors. As much as she wanted to argue it, she knew better.

" Let's get this done in five minutes." he said to her as she nodded and they both sprinted out of the room, heading towards the staircases and towards the cores.

As Rachel reached her floor, she was immediately met with some resistance by the parasite. The small creatures began to move towards her fast. Firing her weapon, they all exploded as the bullets rained down upon them ending their lives. Moving fast, she activated her sprint ability on her armor and moved through the halls like a blurr.

Reaching the first core, she approached the terminal. " Alright Cortana, I'm at the first terminal." she said.

" Codes are coming through now." she answered as the codes were soon displayed on Rachel's HUD.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she inputted the override code. After hitting enter, a siren went off as lights began flashing signalling the beginning of the meltdown. Turning, she began running to the opposite end of the floor where she would activate the second core. Looking at the countdown on her HUD it said that she had three minutes left. Activating her sprint ability, she began moving faster again counting on cutting the time in half.

Rachel skid to a stop as bodies that were taken over by the flood approached her in their grotesque humanoid forms. Lashing out at her with their mutated grown arms, she had to move quick to avoid their hits directly. Her shields took most of the damage as two of the infected made contact with her. Shoving the butt end of her gun into one of its throats she quickly brought her leg up and planted a hard kick on its chest pushing it back. Switching for her shotgun she fired off a shot point blank, its head exploding and the body falling to the ground in pieces. Doing the same with the other one, she continued to run as she dispatched the two enemies.

Finally reaching the second core terminal she found she didn't have to contact Cortana as the codes were sent to her automatically. Assuming that Cortana was keeping watch of their locations. Inputting the code, another siren sounded as more lights flashed.

**WARNING: CORE MELTDOWN IMMINENT. EMERGENCY ESCAPE ROUTES SUGGESTED. **

A voice rang out over the intercom system. " Okay, I'm done." she said through the comm.

It was just then that one of the larger mutated bodies grabbed her from behind, throwing her across the room like she was made of paper. Climbing to her feet, she saw that her shotgun lay on the floor across from her. Looking up at the creature as it charged, she brought her arms up to counter its attack. Pushing against its mutated arms she used all her strength to try and hold it back, while one hand tried to reach for the combat knife on her chest.

Finally reaching it, she lashed out at the creature creating several deep gashes in its body. However, it proved ineffective as the creature kept coming at her, whipping its long and sharp body parts relentlessly. Hitting her several times, she was slammed against the wall once more, letting out a small cry of pain.

Holding her arm, her armor was beeping, indicating that her shields were low. Equipping her pistol she began to fire off rounds into the creatures head, but even that didn't slow it as it charged at her again. Rolling on the ground she dodged it's attack and neared her shotgun. Once it turned to charge at her again, she was bent down on one knee, her shotgun aimed at its torso. Pulling the trigger a few times the mutated body exploded into an almost green mist as the body parts lay strewn across the room.

" Rachel, are you okay?" Chief's voice came over the comm.

" Yeah,I'm on my way up now." she replied back, activating her sprint once more and moving fast through the second level not long after reaching the first where she met up with Chief again. Looking at the clock she smirked." With one minute to spare." she said proudly.

She watched as Chief approached the terminal and took out the chip that was Cortana. Placing her in the back of his helmet, he led the way to the docking station where they would take a pod to the UNSC frigate that was orbiting the planet.

" Stay close." He said as he led her through the infested level.

Her breathing was steadied as she ran to keep up with Chief. Her suit made it easier for her to move fast and not have to worry about her body getting tired. Firing off rounds from her pistol, she shot at any of the flood that tried to get to close. They didn't have time to get rid of all the opposition. Their main goal was to get to the hanger where they would take the pod to the frigate in space and be clear of the facility before it exploded.

" It's just through those blast doors." Rachel said as she hit back an advancing enemy as they drew closer to the door.

" It's opened." Cortana's voice rang out as the doors slid open, the hiss of the hydraulics from the doors confirming it.

Running through Rachel could see the pod as smoke was forming around it. Cortana had it prepped for them to use. Approaching it, the door to the pod opened as Chief climbed aboard, extending his hand to help Rachel up.

" I've sealed the blast doors. They won't be able to get inside the hanger." Cortana said

" How much longer until we can leave?" Rachel asked.

" The pod will be ready in three minutes." Cortana said.

"And until the detonation?" Rachel inquired.

" Approximately eight minutes." Cortana replied.

" Will the blast doors hold?" Chief asked.

" They should." Cortana answered

" And if they don't," Rachel said cocking her gun. " We'll have no choice but to keep them off of us until launch." she said determined.

Looking at Chief, she couldn't help but form a small smile. They had finally done it. They had carried out their mission and had both made it to the end. Of course, Rachel knew better than to get too overexcited about things before the mission was fully completed but - she just couldn't help thinking what it was going to be like for them to start a new life together.

Of course they would try to get back to Earth, but she didn't care too much about where they would go, all she cared about was being with him. All of the pain and suffering that she endured throughout her military - Spartan career would all be worth it in the end. True, they were Spartans until the day they died.. but they would be Spartans with each other.. and they would live for each other.

Suddenly, there was a big explosion and Rachel had to hold onto the side of the pod to catch her balance. " What was that ?" she asked as she saw smoke rise from somewhere inside of the hanger.

**WARNING - CORE MELTDOWN IN PROGRESS. WARNING. **

A loud voice erupted over the intercom throughout the facility .

" Uh, Chief. The time has just went from eight minutes to three. " Cortana said.

" What happened?" he asked.

" The cores seem to have overheated at a faster rate then I thought ." she said.

" What now ?" Rachel asked.

" I'm trying to speed up the launch sequence for the pod but.. it keeps locking me out. It says..." Cortana paused. " It says it needs a manual override code. " she informed them.

Both Chief and Rachel looked at each other. Manual meant that it had to be a human being that physically put the code in. But, if either one of them left the pod to input the codes then they would die.

Thinking and moving fast, Rachel pushed Chief to the side and activated her sprint ability which launched her from the pod and into the hanger.

" Rachel!" Chief's voice yelled as he straightened himself up .

Reaching the terminal, Rachel hit a button that activated the see through doors to close separating the launch pad where the pod was and the hanger where Rachel was.

Exiting the pod, Chief was stopped by the door. Rachel watched as he pounded on the door but it wouldn't brake.

" Rachel!" He yelled again.

Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she inputted the override codes.

**OVERRIDE ACCEPTED. LAUNCH WILL BEGIN IN T-MINUS 60 SECONDS. **

A voice chimed.

Letting out a sigh, Rachel took her helmet off and walked over to the door where Chief was standing on the other side.

" Rachel what the hell are you doing ! Open these doors !" he yelled frantically.

" Chief, we don't have much time." Cortana warned him.

" Chief... " Rachel started as she looked at him. " I'm sorry but.. it had to be done." she said as she held out her hand and had it pressed up against the glass.

" No...no it didn't. We could've figured out a way. We could have both survived." Chief said.

" You and I both know that's not true. " She said with a small smile. " Remember, sometimes sacrificing is the only way you can win a war. " she said as tears started to form.

**T-MINUS THIRTY SECONDS TO LAUNCH. **

Chief shook his head as he outstretched his hand and held it opposite to hers on the glass.

" Not if it's you... " he said slowly.

" I'm sacrificing myself to save you. The galaxy still needs you Chief." she said.

" But I need you ." he answered.

" I'm glad I was able to meet you. You brought happiness and love into my life when I needed it the most and I know that I.. that I can die happy now." she said as a tear rolled down her cheek.

**T-MINUS TWENTY SECONDS TO LAUNCH. **

" Rachel you're everything to me.. I love you ." he said, his voice faltering.

" I love you too." she said leaning closer to the glass. " But you have to go now John.. there isn't much time left. We can't both die here." she said to him , urging him to leave before it was too late. " You have to go.. " she said to him as more tears fell down her cheeks.

Chief stood there, reluctant to leave.

" John.. " she said again.

**T-MINUS TEN SECONDS. **

**NINE. **

**EIGHT. **

Chief slowly turned from the glass and headed into the pod. Once inside, the door slowly closed and he stood looking through the window at her as the metal doors on the ceiling began to open.

**FIVE. **

**FOUR. **

Rachel lowered her hand from the glass as she stood there and watched him, having a smile on her face the entire time. There was no way that she was going to have Chief have the last image of her upset and distraught. No, she would smile for him.. for them. For all the love that they shared and the happiness they brought each other.

**TWO**

**ONE **

The rockets at the end of the pod lit up as it began to rise from the hanger and soon into the sky .

Rachel watched as it disappeared from her sight. She could hear explosions sounding off all around her and the scream of the parasite as they burned and still tried to get through to her. Looking at her wrist she held her arm up to her face as she played around with some switches on her armor.

Hearing another explosion she braced herself, her eyes cast into the sky once more.

" It's all up to you now, my love." she said as the final big explosion sounded and with the combined power of the explosives they stole from the covenant and the core overlaods, the entire of the facility exploded taking the new mutated parasite with it... and the life of Lieutenant Rachel Fleming.


	15. Hope

**Chapter 15**

**Master Chief**

* * *

The sounds of the thrusters and the beeping monitor's was all that could be heard within the small cabin of the pod that had just been launched from the facility. Chief stood silent, still grasping the handle within the pod as he stared out the window at the planet that got further and further from view. But more importantly, at the explosion that had occurred at the facility he was just at.. that Rachel was left in.. that she died in.

" Chief.. ? "Cortana's voice finally broke the silence.

No answer.

" Chief, we're set to dock the frigate in two minutes." She informed him.

When the planet was finally far enough that all he could make out was the blue and green of the land and water, he turned from the window, releasing the handle and heading over to the weapons locker. Opening it, he began to take out an assault rifle, a sniper rifle, two pistol's, an energy sword, some grenade's and a shotgun.

Checking over his weapons, loading them and cocking them accordingly, he attached them all to his person and stood back at the door, waiting for it to open. Chief was royally pissed off, and heartbroken to no end. This man, the commander of the frigate - the one who knew about all the experiments in the facility and ordered both him and Rachel killed - he would pay.

Chief was going to make sure of it himself.

* * *

**U.N.S.C FRIGATE : HURRICANE**  
**BRIDGE **  
**0900 HOURS**

" Captain, one of the facility emergency pods has just docked in loading station B. " the A.I's voice came through the comm unit.

" What? But that's impossible.. that facility has been inoperable for … months now ! There's no way that the covenant could have discovered it, let alone got in !" the captain said as he stood up from his seat surprised. " Bring up the security feed from loading station B. I want to see who or what was in that pod. " the Captain commanded. " Also, have a security team sent down there to check it out. " he added.

" Right away sir. " The A.I responded, flickering for a moment as it processed the captain's command.

Watching the screens, the captain could see as the pod rested in the landing platform and the door to it slowly opened. At the same time, he could see the security unit he sent surrounding the pod with their weapons aimed at it ready to take out whatever would emerge from it.

Something fell, or rather looked like it was thrown, out of the pod rolling across the ground. The security guards followed it with the barrels of their guns but none of them fired for lack of movement - or action from the item .

One guard stepped forward trying to examine what it was when all of a sudden, one end popped off and smoke began billowing out of the small metal container.

" Get back ! Get back!" the leader of the security detail shouted as the guard backed up and their guns were once again focused on the door of the pod. However, as the smoke filled the room it became a lot harder to see.

A gunshot went off as one of the guards dropped to the ground, a pool of blood forming beneath his body. The other guards looked down at their fallen comrade then back to the opening.

" Open fire!" one of the shouted as the shots rang out through the loading bay, all into the opening of the pod.

However, their guns were not the only ones being fired. Bullets came out of the pod in a methodical and strategically short bursts taking down the guards one at a time. The smoke making visibility even harder for them, had the guards shooting at all sorts of random places in the loading dock.

One of the guards let out a scream for help that was soon followed by a sickening crack sound signifying a broken spine, and a dead guard. It wasn't long before all of the guards were laying on the ground dead, blood spilled all over.

Once the smoke cleared, the ' enemy ' could be seen clearly. Standing amongst the dead bodies was Master Chief. Some red blood smeared on his armour, and the barrel of his gun smoking. Looking up at the camera, Chief raised his weapon and pulled the trigger destroying the camera - and therefore, disabling the live security feed at which the Captain was watching.

" Imp-impossible! It's Master Chief!" the Captain cried out in fear. " Seal the bridge! Nothing gets through those doors! Sound the red alert. I want every single guard armed and ready to take down that thing! Also, bring all defences and turrets online! Take that damn spartan down ! " he shouted.

* * *

" Chief ! " Cortana yelled. " Those are humans!" she said, horrified at what he had done.

Looking down at the bodies all around him Chief began walking forward, careful to step over them. " They're all part of this. They let all of that happen down there, they're monsters. " he said as he continued forward, taking out any guards that rushed at him with ease.

" Chief, please think this through. You can't kill all of these people. You're purpose is to fight and defend these people." she said, trying to reason with him. It was clear that he was being taken over by blind rage and revenge.

" They all stood by and did nothing !" he said.

" Chief, there's a chance they may not have known ! And if they did, then they should be turned into the U.N.S.C where they will be dealt with properly! If you go around just killing them all, then you're no better than them!" she shouted. " Do you think this is what Rachel would have wanted!" she questioned, feeling bad for bringing his recently dead girlfriend into it, but drastic times...

Chief immediately stopped, thinking about Cortana's words. In front of him was a guard, disarmed and cowering in fear. Chief had his weapon pointed at him - ready to kill. Raising his weapon he hit the man in the back of the head, instantly knocking him out but not causing him any harm.

" You're right.. but there's nothing that can save the Captain." he said to her.

Cortana was silent for a moment. " After what he's done.. I think the only suitable punishment is death." she said in agreement with Chief.

* * *

" God dammit ! He's taken out another camera! Where are the guards, why aren't they stopping him ! " the captain yelled as he stood in front of a screen that displayed several different feeds from the camera's on the ship.

" He's taking them out sir. I don't believe our guards have the proper training or skill requirements to go up against an enemy like him." the A.I responded.

In anger, the captain picked up a chair and hurled it across the room causing it to smash through several terminals, sending sparks flying.  
There were gunshots from the other side of the blast door which told the captain that he was there.

" There's no way he can get through those blast door's. They're reinforced titanium!" he said with a smirk on his face.

" Sir, it appears that SPARTAN 117, seems to have an A.I with him." the ship's A.I said.

" What? What do you mean.. what kind of A.I? Don't let it in the system.. block it out. " the captain yelled.

" It's hacking the system sir, I'm doing everything I can to keep her out but - " the A.I was cut off.

" But what? What do you mean but!" the captain yelled. There was no answer form the A.I  
" Answer me dammit!" he shouted.

It was then that the red lights around the door turned green, and they began to open. The Captain stepped back nearly tripping over his chair. Grabbing a pistol off of the table he held it up pointed towards the door .

Once Chief appeared, the captain squeezed the trigger unloading the entire clip. It didn't affect Chief however as his shields took all damage, beeping after as they set to recharge.

The captain threw the pistol at Chief, as it just bounced off of his armor and onto the floor. Moving forward, Chief extended his hand and grabbed the captain by the throat slamming him up against the wall. The captain tried to pry Chief's hand off of him but it was no use.

" Killing me won't change anything!" the captain said through a clenched throat.

Although he couldn't see, Chief's eyes narrowed at the man as he tightened his grip on his fragile throat.

" I see you've come alone.. that must m-mean that all you f-friends were wiped out. Including you're little s-spartan buddy.. what was her name.. oh yeah.. R-rachel." the captain said with a smirk.

Chief's grip tightened even more as he turned and threw the captain across the bridge, causing him to crash into a wall of screens and terminals. Breaking on him they undoubtedly caused many different cuts on him as well as caused him to suffer some broken bones.

Picking him up once more he held him against the wall, his grip extremely tight mere inches away from snapping his neck.

" You don't deserve to live. " Chief finally said as he twisted his wrist causing the captain's neck to break and his limp body to fall to the ground, dead.

Looking at his dead body for a moment more, Chief walked over to the main console and pulled Cortana out from the back of his helmet and placed her into the main console. Her holographic form appeared.

" Can you bring the engine's online?" Chief asked her.

Cortana's image flickered, indicating that she had sifted through the files and engine reports.  
" If I can just recalibrate the engine modules and add the schematics that I coped from the facility I should be able to jump start the drive core and give us enough of a push to put us in FTL and bring us close to Earth's orbit. " she said.

" How long?" he asked.

" Five minutes. " she answered.

" Do it." Chief finally said as she nodded and disappeared into cyberspace.

Moving over to the front window, Chief looked out over the planet below. He was going to leave it all behind - leave her behind. Although she was dead, he still felt as though he was betraying her in some way by just leaving. But what more could he do ? It wasn't as though he could go and retrieve her body even if he wanted to. That close to the explosion, there was no doubt that her body was vaporized.

" I'm sorry Rachel.. " he whispered quietly as he could feel his eyes begin to gather some moisture. There were no tears however, Chief didn't know if he had the capability to cry. But maybe, one day.

A few moments later, Chief walked back over to where the main console was as Cortana's image reappeared.

" Well?" he asked.

" Engine's are online and FTL is charged and ready to go. The co-ordinates are set. Just waiting on your command. " she said to him.

Chief waited a moment. " Do it." he said to her.

" Got it. " she answered as she activated the drive.

However.. it was just at that moment that Rachel's suit came back online as displayed by his HUD . Chief's eyes widened at this.

" Wait, Cortana stop !" he shouted.

But it was too late. The FTL drive was already activated, and the U.N.S.C Hurricane was shot through space only to end up somewhere near Earth's orbit, leaving behind the unknown system he was in … and Rachel.

" I'm sorry Chief." was all that Cortana could say, but she knew no matter what - nothing would make him feel better .

Nothing but seeing her again. And those chances...were next to nothing. But she also knew, that if there was any small chance that Rachel could be alive, Chief wouldn't stop until he found her. Come hell or high water - or any kind of regulations of alien army - he would fight until he found her.

He would never stop.


	16. Epilogue

AUTHOR'S NOTES : Thank you everyone for reading and replying to my story ! Unfortunately, this is the end of Unexpected Encounters. I hope, however, that you enjoy the Epilogue and hopefully don't come after me with torches and pitchforks ! Lol. ENJOY and thank you so much for those devoted readers. You're the reason that I could continue with my story, and you're the reason why I keep writing ! Love you all ! Thanks so much !

* * *

EPILOGUE

* * *

The crackle and pops coming from the burnt wreckage of what was once the U.N.S.C research facility, sounded through the area. Smoke billowed upwards covering the sky with thick dark clouds. Debris was everywhere. Pieces of metal, chairs, anything that wasn't disintegrated by the blast was burning or half burnt on the ground.

Crunching sounds were added to those of the burning fires as a group of Elite's and grunts moved through the wreckage, tyring to salvage what they could - and trying to figure out what had happened. Though, the latter would be next to impossible considering everything was destroyed and had they found a computer terminal that was at all salvageable - Cortana had already wiped all data banks of any information.

" Scanner's show that there is some kind of active technology around here.. and, no that can't be possible." one of the Elite's said.

" What is it?" The leader asked.

" The scanners are picking up some kind of life force.. " he answered.

" What kind of life force?" Like .. a plant?" the leader asked.

" No.. it seems to be some kind of … being. It's not covenant .. " he responded.

" Lead me to this anomaly." he ordered.

The other nodded as it took the lead and moved through the wreckage coming across two large beams with something glowing underneath them.

" There it is. " he said.

The leader motioned for two others to come and move the metal beams that was covering this ' being '. Two elite's stepped forward and pushed aside the beams revealing what was underneath them.

The leader stepped back as he looked down at it.

" It's a human." he said examining it closely.

" How.. how could a human survive this kind of explosion? There's no way any living being could directly survive this!" one of the Elite's asked.

The Elite that seemed to be the ' techie ' of the group bent down and waved something over the human. " It appears that this force field surrounding this human is what spared its life, but, according to my scanner's the human is damaged. " he said.

" Is there any way you can deactivate that.. field?" the leader asked.

" 'll try." he said as he began typing away on his wrist computer. " It's similar to the force shield's that we use on our ships and doors." he said as he continued to type away. " Ship master.. if I lower this shield, it might kill her. It seems to be all that's keeping her alive." he said." No.. that suit is what's keeping her alive. This field is connected to it's suit, it may kill her." he said.

The ship master was silent for a moment. " Do it." he said.

The other elite nodded as he pressed a few more buttons and the shielding around her flickered before it disappeared completely. " It's done." he said

There was silence for a moment before the woman's eyes opened and she gasped for air, reaching forward she grabbed at the shipmaster for some support.

The elite's all pulled out their weapons and aimed it at her, ready to fire.

" No ! Lower your weapons." the ship master said as he outstretched his arm to catch to falling woman. Collapsed in his arms, it would seem that she was unconscious. " Call for extraction." he ordered.

" But sir.. it's a human." one of the Elite's spoke up.

Looking down at the woman his eyes examined her porcelain-like face. " They are no longer our enemies." he said.

-

**Author's notes : TADAA. Okay.. now it's the end. Lol So - as you can see, it will be continued. When ? I'm not too sure. I've got some other idea's for stories that I gotta get out of my head. Not to mention, I need to finish up some other stories that I have. BUT - I hope you all enjoyed this, and there will be a part two - but like I said, I don't quite know WHEN. I've still got some plot idea's I need to smooth out and such. I'm going to make sure it's all perfect for you guys ! I hope you enjoyed it and please, REVIEW ! 3**


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